Love and Don't Let Go
by TailsTheFox1996
Summary: Sasuke comes back after the war and gets together with Naruto. But Kiba's got a crush on Naruto, and has to keep his feelings under wraps when Naruto comes to him for comfort when Sasuke breaks his heart. And after Akamaru died, Kiba is even more vulnerable when an old enemy comes back to say hello. Yaoi, KibaNaru, SasuNaru. Fluff, Lemon, Cutting, and more! Don't like, don't read!
1. 1: Return of the Raven

The tiles of the rooftops are loud beneath his shoes as Kiba sprints across the rooftops of the Leaf Village. That scent he picked up is unmistakeable. That cold feel, the aura of power coming from that man...if his ideals are the same as they were a few weeks ago, the village might be burning to the ground within the hour.

Kiba approaches the gates of the village just in time. Apparently the others have picked up on his presence, too. In fact, it looks like he's running late. Hinata and Neji stand side-by-side at the entrance to the village, a close eye kept on the man with their Byakugan. Choji stands ready behind them, and Shikamaru and Sakura aren't far behind. Ino's knees are shaking, despite her feelings towards the man. The one Kiba would expect more than anyone is nowhere to be found.

"Sakura-chan," Kiba pants. Running clear from the Inuzuka estate to here wasn't a picnic, especially at the pace he was taking it. He takes a moment to catch his breath. "Please tell me my nose was lying."

Akamaru finally catches up to the brunette, landing nimbly beside him with a bark as he leaps off a rooftop. Kiba doesn't know how he managed to outrun Akamaru, but all he could think about what he might do to—

"Sakura..." mumbles Naruto. Naruto leaps nimbly off a rooftop, landing beside Sakura without making even the faintest of noises. His eyes glow with the power of Sage Jutsu, making Kiba take a step back. If Naruto is serious enough to be using that technique, this must be as bad as Kiba had feared if not worse. Naruto steps in front of the group, eyes flaring with anger. Despite the tension, the Inuzuka can't help but let out a small smile.

He doesn't really know when Kiba realized he had a crush on Naruto Uzumaki, but when he did, it hit him like a brick wall. Any feelings he'd had for any girl were pushed aside every time Kiba even thought about Naruto-kun. If there was even a slight chance of running into him at some points, he found himself paying attention to things he'd never really cared about before. Kiba fixed his hair carefully in the morning. Shaved at the slightest sign of facial hair. Double and triple checked his breath to make sure it wasn't as bad as Akamaru's. Anything that could impress his love: Naruto. Everything about him is just perfect.

His head full of spiked blonde hair, the whiskers on his cheeks, his easygoing attitude. Kiba notices that his smiles are less common lately, which saddens him. Naruto has been seeming like more than just a little crush lately. He's been wanting to confess it outright, despite what Naruto may think of him. However, the very thought of him avoiding Kiba has been enough to nullify those thoughts.

"He's getting close," Neji reports. All the ninja all take a step back as his figure comes into focus. His spiked black hair, the purple rope tied at his waist. His high-collared shirt and his sword. The very picture of intimidation.

Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto steps forward, eyes cautious. Kiba lays a cautious hand on his shoulder. "Be careful," he warns. Tears threaten to brim at Kiba's eyes as he pictures Naruto being hurt by the Uchiha.

"Sasuke..." Naruto chokes out. "Why...why are you here?"

"The war is over, Naruto," Sasuke says. "Madara and Kabuto have gone into hiding. They have nothing to give me anymore."

"And you're still hellbent on destroying the Leaf," growls Kiba, standing next to Naruto. Akamaru flanks Naruto, barking fiercly.

"Not exactly," Sasuke concludes. "Naruto, I finally realized why you are so determined to get me back."

_What is he talking about?_ Kiba wonders.

"You said to me, that day at the Valley, that I was like a brother to you," Sasuke says. His expression stays cold as ice. "I never pegged you for a liar."

Naruto swallows loudly, eyes wide with fear. He takes a step back, and Sasuke steps forward. Fully realizing the risks, Kiba throws himself between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Not a step closer!" Kiba barks at his former classmate.

"Get out of the way, Kiba," Sasuke orders. The brunette lets his feral instincts take him over as his fingernails extend into claws. A guttural growl emanates from his throat. The very thought of Sasuke hurting Naruto is enough to send Kiba over the edge.

Sasuke steps closer. Akamaru leaps in front of them, barking at Sasuke. Sasuke makes only a slight pause, but soon begins his advance once more.

"Absolute Fang Over Fang!" screams Kiba. Giving Sasuke no time to prepare, he and Akamaru launch themselves at the raven. His vision blurring at their speed, Kiba uses his sense of smell to determine Sasuke's location. He smells like he kind of needs a shower, but beneath that is something else. Sasuke is sweating, like he's just as nervous about this as Naruto is.

"Enough of this," Sasuke growls. Kiba feels Sasuke's chakra intensify just as his head explodes with pain. The Inuzuka feels like he just face-planted into a dumpster. He drops to the ground, on hands and knees at Sasuke's feet. It would be as simple as one kunai to end his life right here and now, but Sasuke makes no such attempt.

Kiba brings his gaze back up to Sasuke. Around Sasuke is a purple chakra he'd never seen before. The chakra slowly molds itself into a giant skeleton, Sasuke standing in the middle of the skeleton's ribs. The skull's eyes are glowing yellow.

"What the hell?" mumbles Kiba, slowly backing away from Sasuke and his new friend. He struggles to his feet, but find that difficult as his vision blurs. He drops back down, head pounding. Something warm trickles down the right side of his face.

"Kiba-kun, you're bleeding!" Hinata cries. Akamaru, enraged, throws himself at Sasuke again.

A skeletal fist wraps around Akamaru. Sasuke simply jerks his head to the right, ordering the skeleton to throw Akamaru into the forest. A loud whimper and a snap are all Kiba can hear of my oldest friend.

"S—Sasuke!" Sakura cries. Tears stream down her cheeks as she realizes that Sasuke isn't here to play.

Kiba looks back to Naruto for some support, but find that his eyes are still wide with fear. Sasuke takes another step towards Naruto, but Naruto's knees simply buckle. He collapses on the ground, tears brimming in his eyes.

"Don't hate me, Sasuke," he says. "If you can find it in your heart, if you could think of the bond we shared before, please...just don't hate me."

Sasuke then does the unexpected. His skeleton vanishing, he cups Naruto's chin gently in one of his hands. For the first time since we were lowly Genin, Sasuke smiles warmly.

"How could I hate someone who loves me so unconditionally?" he says. Emitting a small yelp from Kiba, Sasuke does something the Inuzuka would never have imagined in his wildest dreams. In his wildest nightmares.

Sasuke cups Naruto's cheeks with his pale hands, pulling their lips together in a passionate kiss. Everyone is dead silent as they watch the two teenage boys kiss. If what Sasuke says is true, then Naruto must be...

He thought it was impossible. Naruto is gay, or at the very least bi. That means Kiba might have a sho—

Wait, he's kissing someone else. Sasuke,you son of a—

"N-Naruto?" Kiba chokes out. Naruto breaks off the kiss, not blinking as he and Sasuke stare into each other's eyes. Sasuke wears a small triumphant smile on his lips, while Naruto is in awe. Naruto smiles widely, tears flowing freely as he throws his arms around Sasuke's neck. Sasuke wraps his arms around Naruto as he weeps, comforting him by rubbing his back gently with one hand.

"W-what just happened?" Neji asks.

"Naruto and Sasuke are...gay?" Ino mumbles. She puts on a fake smile. "So THAT's how you were able to resist my charms for so long, eh Sasuke?"

Kiba would almost call that funny, but you'd be amazed what a quick Sharingan-powered glare can do to your confidence. The Inuzuka struggle to his feet, simply watching as Naruto and Sasuke hold each other. For them to be so open about it with no preparation is...astounding. He hasn't even come out to his parents, much less to _all _of your friends.

"Naruto, how long have you...?" Sakura asks.

"When we were in school, I really did hate him," Naruto explains, wiping the last of his tears from his cheeks. "But when we were on Team 7, when we started spending so much time together...all that changed."

Kiba's jaw drops. Not only is Naruto gay and out of the closet, but he's spilling his heart out in public. Naruto is by far the bravest man on the face of the planet.

"To think that all this time, so many years crushing on Sasuke, and the whole time you were..._undermining _me?" Sakura asks in disbelief. Naruto faces her, eyes brimming with shock.

"Sakura-chan, it's not like that," he pleads.

"I've never had any interest in you, Sakura," Sasuke says coldly. "Naruto is the only one I love."

Sakura turns away from them, tears in her eyes. Sasuke, slowly and silently, reaches back for his sword. Kiba sees his advance on Naruto's life, and panics. He throws himself at Sasuke, roaring with rage as tears flow from quickly from his eyes. Kunai raised high in the air, Kiba tackles Sasuke and send Naruto rolling on his side. He holds the kunai only a centimeter away from Sasuke's jugular, hands shaking in fury.

"What kind of game do you think this is, Sasuke?" he yells. Sasuke's eyes, wide with shock, simply look over the teenage Inuzuka.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asks.

"I saw you reach for your sword!" he announces. "You were going to hurt, you were going to _kill_ Naruto!"

Sasuke, expression turning cold once again, throws up his leg and sends Kiba tumbling off of him. Kiba leaps back to his feet, screaming in pure rage as he sprints at Sasuke.

Two hands grasp his trembling shoulders. Before he can even blink, he sees Naruto, his eyes cold and toad-like, glaring into Kiba's slit eyes. He speaks no words, but his glare says it all. _He is not to be harmed._

Sasuke reaches for his sword again. Kiba tries to push Naruto behind him, but Naruto is impossibly strong. His shoulders hurt when he tries to struggle against Naruto's brute strength.

Instead of the sound of clashing of metal, the sound of paper in the wind drifts to Kiba's ears. Sasuke reaches past his sword and into his back pocket, pulling out a small envelope. The letter is sealed, the Uchiha symbol clearly imprinted on the seal.

"I wrote this for Lady Tsunade," he says. Sasuke throws Kiba the letter, so Naruto allows him to catch it. Kiba breaks the seal, unfolding the letter from inside and reading it aloud.

_Dear Lady Hokage,_

_For the past three years, I have been a traitor to the Hidden Leaf Village. I left with Orochimaru, I killed my brother, and I schemed with the Akatsuki against the village. But now I beg for your forgiveness._

_There are some things better said in person than on paper, so I'll keep this brief. Naruto says that the bond between us is what would bring me back to the Hidden Leaf. While for years I saw this as an empty gesture, I've recently found it to be more serious. _Much _more serious._

_I was in awe when I made the discovery, but I now realize that this bond is one that has been formed between Naruto and I. I can't ask you to forgive my crimes, and I will understand if you reject me, but know that I bear no ill will against the Leaf anymore. Naruto is more important to me than any grudge._

_All I want now is to return to the Village and continue my life here. Naruto is all that matters to me anymore._

_-Sasuke Uchiha_

His expression is blank as the Inuzuka read the letter over and over, but that is a mask. Inside, his soul is being ripped, crushed, stabbed, and ignited with every word of Sasuke's heartfelt letter. When he finishes reading it for the fourth time, he can't bear to even look at either of them. Naruto's expression was confused, watching the brunette read the letter over and over again. He looks concerned, like there might be more going on here than he realizes.

If that's what he thinks, Kiba would like to hand him a big fat _duh_.

"I don't—" Kiba stutters. A single tear leaks from his left eye, causing him to curse under my breath. He and Naruto are still face-to-face, only inches of air between their lips. Naruto brushes the tear away with his thumb, making Kiba blush furiously.

Naruto brings his face closer to Kiba, whispering. "Kiba...are you alright?"

Despite his jutsu, he pushes Naruto away from him with every ounce of strength in his body. Kiba could think of a million different ways to tell Naruto that he is _not _alright, but most of them either involve too much swearing or new words would have to be invented to explain his fury. Kiba gives a cold, silent glare to Sasuke before leaping into the woods after Akamaru.

The only one he can trust, apparently.

"What's up with him?" Choji wonders.

"I...don't know," Naruto admits. He turns back to Sasuke, who watches Kiba run through the forest with his Sharingan.

"Kiba's changed since the last time we talked," Sasuke says. "He's different. Sadder, but more mature."

Naruto and he share a concerned glance, but Naruto's eyes are quickly replaced with happiness as he embraces Sasuke once again. The two hug lovingly, occasionally planting a small kiss on the neck of the other. The others watch the clouds, or kick some dirt to avert their attention. Only Lee, being the idiot he is, watches them the whole time. Naruto smiles, a tear streaking down his cheek, as he kisses Sasuke once again.

Kiba follows his nose to find Akamaru. When he finally finds his friend, Kiba can only gasp. Sasuke threw Akamaru into the trunk of a monstrous oak tree. Akamaru is lying unconscious on the ground, but the Inuzuka breathes a sigh of relief as he realizes that he's still breathing.

Kiba bites his thumb, weaving hand seals. "Summoning jutsu!" he says. In a puff of smoke, a small hound is sitting in front of him. The canine's golden fur glows in the sunlight, his tail wagging.

"Go get Tsume, tell her Akamaru's hurt and I need her help," Kiba pants. The dog barks before running back towards the village.

Kiba turns back to the hound, stroking his white fur with his hand. The soft furs beneath his hand soothe Kiba's racing thoughts. In truth, though he feels guilty about it, Akamaru is Kiba's second concern. What really concerns him is Naruto and his new boyfriend.

How could this happen? On one hand, Kiba was ecstatic that Naruto wasn't straight. The fact that he might have even a sliver of feelings for his dog-loving friend was enough to make Kiba giggle like a kid on Christmas morning. On the other hand, there's Sasuke.

Sasuke Uchiha. With girls fawning over him during his time in the Leaf, never did the idea of Sasuke being gay ever once cross his thoughts. Now that he thinks about it, that _would _explain why Sasuke didn't have an interest in any of them...

"What a mess..." Kiba groans. The thought of Naruto being with anyone but him is enough to drive him to the brink of insanity. Why couldn't he just love Lee or something? Lee's strong, he's kind, he's...oh God, Kiba can't get past the eyebrows or the bowl cut if he were to give it more than a moment of thought. Upon further thinking, the idea of it altogether grosses him out. He only has eyes for Naruto.

"There you are, Kiba!" Tsume yells. When Kiba turns his head, the fang markings on his face, the symbols of his Clan, are streaked with tears. Tsume thinks he mourns Akamaru, fearful for his life. While Kiba is concerned for his friend, his tears are caused by another. Caused by Naruto.

"Oh man, he's in bad shape," Hana states. "We need to get him to Lady Tsunade now!"

"Kiba, I know you probably want to be with Akamaru right now, but we need you to go to the mansion and get Tsunade to the hospital. We'll meet you there!"

Before he can protest, His mother and sister load Akamaru onto a monster-sized stretcher and begin to carry him away. Seeing no other option, Kiba leaps through the trees and back to the village.

Kiba bursts through the doors of the Hokage's office, interrupting a conversation between Tsunade and a woman with her back turned to Kiba.

"Kiba?" Tsunade asks. The woman turns, revealing crimson eyes and a belly full of baby.

"Kiba, how nice to see you!" Kurenai greets. Looking him over, seeing his short breaths and sweaty body, her happiness is replaced with concern.

"What's happened, Kiba?" Tsunade asks.

"Sasuke's back, Akamaru's hurt, you're needed at the hospital!" he chokes through his gasps.

"Wait, what was that first part?" the Hokage asks in disbelief.

"I'll tell you later, but you need to get to the Hospital!" Kiba says. "Please, Akamaru is really hurt!"

Tsunade sighs, standing from her chair and running past Kiba. Being too drained of energy to follow, Kiba drops to the ground in exhaustion. Kurenai, his former teacher, walks slowly over to him. She puts a hand on Kiba's shoulder, eyes filled with concern.

"Kiba, is there something bothering you?" she asks. Kiba averts his gaze, trying to slow his breathing.

"I'm fine, just—" he pauses. "I'm just worried about Akamaru, that's all."

"Uh-huh, sure..." she says. Through a great deal of difficulty, the pregnant woman takes a seat on the floor next to Kiba. "Tell me everything that happened."

Kiba relayed his story to Kurenai-sensei. Him running to the gate, seeing Sasuke approach the village. His kiss with Naruto, and the letter for Tsunade. Kurenai paled when the kiss came up, but quickly shook it from her thoughts as he continued his story.

"...and that's when Mom showed up," Kiba concludes. Kiba unbuttons his jacket in an attempt to get more air.

"One thing doesn't add up, Kiba," his sensei says. "Why _were _you so upset after Sasuke showed you the letter?"

"Because he's done so much to hurt the village," he lies. In truth, those are things that can be forgiven in time. But kissing Naruto is crossing the line.

"Sasuke clearly regrets his past decisions and wants to come back," she says. "There's no reason to hate him any longer. And besides, it's good that he can make Naruto happy."

Kiba winces, confirming the crimson-eyed kunoichi's suspicions. "Sasuke shouldn't be able to make Naruto happy after everything he's done to him."

"After everything Sasuke's done to Naruto, or after everything he's done to _you_?" she asks.

"He's done nothing personal to me," Kiba lies. He imagines that he's red in the face so that his skin matches his clan markings. "But everything to Naruto..."

"You seem to care an awful lot about Naruto, eh Kiba?" she muses.

"Yeah, well..." Kiba blushes. "Aside from Shino, he's like my best friend. I'd do anything for him."

"I bet you would," she teases. As she and Kiba exchange glances, Kurenai winks to Kiba. He blushes furiously.

"Why did you wink?" he asks flatly.

"God, you are so dense!" she jokes. "If you're trying to hide the fact you're in love with Naruto, stop blushing every time you hear his name!"

Kiba's heart lurches up into his throat. His panting returns, for a different reason this time. While he's managed to hide it from his parents for years, his sensei was able to dissect the situation in a matter of minutes. What the heck should he say now?

"I...I don't—"

"Don't lie, Kiba..." she says. "Relax, I won't tell anybody if you don't want me to."

The brunette drops his gaze to the floor, tears brimming in his eyes. "You probably think I'm disgusting."

"I could never think of you that way, Kiba," Kurenai admits. "When I look at you, all I see is a young man in a lot of pain. You're sad. You're sad that Naruto is in love with someone besides you."

Kiba wraps his arms around his legs as the tears come freely. He weeps into his sleeves, his sensei comforting him by wrapping her arms around him in a hug. For nearly ten minutes this continues, but eventually his sensei becomes stern with him.

"Enough crying Kiba, we have work to do," she says. Kiba, tears stained on his cheeks and jacket, locks eyes with her crimson orbs. "In my experience, I've seen that love between two men escalates quickly. If you're going to get Naruto, you have to act fast."

Kiba is dumbfounded. First, he's horrified that his teacher discovered his deepest, darkest secret, and now she's giving him romantic advice for use on another man?

"W...what should I do?" Kiba asks.

"You have to tell Naruto how you feel before things get too serious between him and Sasuke," she says. "From what you've told me, they've pretty much made their relationship official. You're already short on time."

"How long?"

"With men, love between them is like a drug," she says. "At first it's fun, but after a while you're hooked. If you let Naruto get addicted to his relationship with Sasuke, you've missed your window of opportunity."

Kiba nods, wrestling his emotions to keep his tears at bay. Kurenai-sensei is right, this is not a time to cry. He has to speak to Naruto, like ten minutes ago.

"I'll go now!" Kiba says. "I can't...I can't lose him..." Kiba's expression is dark as he pictures what might happen if Naruto rejects him.

"Are you out of your mind?" Kurenai asks. She stands up with Kiba's help. "If you go right now he'll still be with Sasuke. You have to wait until they're together and Naruto isn't thinking about Sasuke too much. And you shouldn't do it alone, either."

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"If I go with you, it'll seem like I'm supervising, and that'll get you nowhere," she says. "You need friends to be with you when you pour your heart out to him, be your emotional support."

"Who could I go to, though?" Kiba asks. "I don't know what people will say when I, er...'come out'."

"Who else should you go to?" she asks. "Shino and Hinata, of course."

"Really? Hinata?" Kiba asks. Kurenai ponders that for a moment, and shakes her head.

"Right, forgot about that. Definitely _**not **_Hinata."

"Then Shino and who?"

Kurenai supports her chin with one hand while she thinks. She goes down the list of the ninja in Kiba's class, but none of them but Shino really seem like they would be helpful.

"How about your sister?" Kurenai offers.

"Hana?" Kiba asks in disbelief. "Kurenai-sensei, I know you're trying to help, but I don't think she would take it too well."

"You might be surprised how understanding family can be," Kurenai says. "Go, Kiba. I'd say you have three days until Naruto's addicted."

With only the smallest of smiles on his face, Kiba thanks his sensei before running out of the Hokage mansion. He'll begin his search for Shino at the hospital.


	2. 2: A Date to Remember

**Thank you guys for continuing the story :D I forgot to mention this, but the story isn't just from Kiba's perspective. Every chapter, or sometimes every two chapters, it'll switch between Naruto and Kiba. This time, it's a Naruto chapter, so enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto simply watches as Kiba dives into the forest. Sasuke comes up behind him, putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto...are you alright?" Sasuke asks.

"I'm not sure," he admits. "Something seemed...off about Kiba. He was really hurt."

"He needs time to process a lot of information," Sasuke says. "What with me coming back, us two together...it's a lot to take in."

"I...guess you're right," Naruto says. He turns his gaze to Sasuke, burying his face in Sasuke's shoulder. He takes in his scent, smiling. For so long he's wanted to do this.

"Now, there is one thing that I have missed almost as much as you from this village," Sasuke says, grinning. "Ichiraku Ramen."

Oh dear God, Sasuke and Ichiraku in one day. If he died right now, he'd be okay with it. Wait, scratch that. He needs the ramen first.

Naruto all but drags his new boyfriend through the village. His thoughts of Kiba are erased entirely as he enjoys his time with Sasuke. The two of them take seats at Ichiraku Ramen, emitting quite a bit of fear from the cook.

"N-Naruto, why is he...?"

"He finally came back!" Naruto cheers. The cook eyes Sasuke carefully, cautious. Sasuke can't help but blush.

"Well, I guess this calls for a celebration!" he says. "Ramen's on the house. A 'welcome back' for Sasuke, and a 'job well done' for Naruto!"

As two heaping bowls of ramen are set in front of them, the two teenagers thank the cook for their feast. Naruto shovels his ramen down, while Sasuke takes his meal slowly and enjoys the taste. While Naruto is already done with his bowl, Sasuke still has a lot left.

"Sasuke, do you think Kiba hates us?" Naruto asks darkly, his gaze dropped to his empty bowl.

"Me? Most definitely," Sasuke jokes. "But you, Naruto? I don't think so."

"I just don't get why he ran off," he says.

"I threw his dog that way," Sasuke says. "He was probably just going after Akamaru."

"Yeah...maybe that's all it was," Naruto says. "He was worried Akamaru was hurt and ran after him!"

"See? All better," Sasuke says. He finishes his ramen, thanking the cook before leaving a rather generous tip.

"What do you want to do, Sasuke?" Naruto asks. The sun is high in the sky, warming their smiling faces.

"Are there any good movies out right now?" Sasuke asks. "I haven't been to a movie since I left."

"I haven't been in ages, let's go see!" Naruto says. He grabs Sasuke by his wrist, leading him through the Leaf Village. When they arrive at the brightly colored theater, Naruto breathes a sigh of relief. Some pretty great looking movies are still out.

He and Sasuke pick out a romantic comedy, and enter the theater. The girl behind the register gave them an odd look, two teenage boys going into a romantic comedy together, but they enter the theater before she can inquire further.

Naruto tries to treat Sasuke to popcorn, but fails as Sasuke intimidates the cashier into taking his money. Once the boys have their snacks, they go to their movie.

"I've heard good things about this movie from Sakura-chan," Naruto whispers. "She saw it with Tenten, said it was awesome."

Sasuke drops his gaze. "I shouldn't have been so cold to Sakura. I just...kinda got wrapped up in the moment. Our kiss kind of left me...distracted."

Naruto smiles, brushing his hand gently against Sasuke's cheek. The two of them lock eyes, Naruto's much softer than Sasuke's, who, despite his best efforts, can't pull off 'soft eyes' if his Sharingan were on the line. His Sharingan probably couldn't help that.

"Sasuke...I love you," Naruto says. He presses his lips against Sasuke's, filling them both with warmth. Sasuke's tongue invades Naruto's mouth, making him hesitate. Naruto's first kiss was this morning at the gate, and that kiss was innocent. His second is much more...aggressive. Naruto opens his mouth wider, letting Sasuke do whatever he wants while hoping to gain some experience. Sasuke's tongue brushes against his own, putting a strange taste in his mouth. If this is kissing, Naruto isn't sure if he likes it.

Sasuke breaks the kiss, smiling widely. The two of them hold hands as they continue watching the movie.

Even though he holds Sasuke's hand, his thoughts are still focused on Kiba for some reason. He feels like going after his dog was only part of the reason for such a big reaction. Kiba looked like he wanted to cry, he was so hurt. He would never want to hurt Kiba. Now that Sasuke is something more, Kiba is like his best friend. It hurts Naruto that Kiba is hurt.

"Naruto, why are you crying?" Sasuke asks. "It's a romatic _comedy_."

Naruto fakes a laugh as he wipes away his unexpected tears, punching Sasuke in the arm. In truth, Naruto hasn't paid a bit of attention to the movie. Sasuke has put a sizeable dent in the popcorn while he was thinking, but Naruto isn't feeling too hungry at the moment. His stomach is already filled with regret.

"You're not into this, are you Naruto?" asks Sasuke.

"I totally am, it's a great movie."

"No, I mean...me and you," Sasuke says. "You seem so distracted."

"Sasuke, don't think that," Naruto whines. "I am so glad that you came back, and even more glad that you want to be with me. This crush...has been invading my thoughts for years. Now that I'm not worried about it...it's amazing."

Sasuke smiles, glad he wasn't rejected. In truth, the Uchiha was not afraid of Naruto not being into the relationship. He just wanted to hear Naruto admit it.

Naruto tries his best to focus on the movie, but now Sasuke is a little concerned. Why is Naruto acting so weird?

When the movie finally ends, the two shinobi exit the theater silently. They realize that neither of them paid a whole lot of attention to the movie, what with Naruto concerned about Kiba and Sasuke guilty about snapping at Sakura and worried about Naruto. The two of them walk down the street in silence.

"Sasuke...when did you realize you loved me?" Naruto asks.

"Hmm..." Sasuke hums, thinking. "Before he died, I was talking to Suigetsu, the guy who's made of water from my old team. He talked about his relationship, and how sad he was when the Leaf captured Karin. The way he talked about her so lovingly made me think about who I had those feelings for. The only one I could think of is...you."

There's a long silence between them as Naruto soaks up that information. Eventually, Sasuke asks Naruto a familiar question. "When did you realize you loved me?"

"Easy. Back on the bridge when we were fighting Haku," Naruto says quickly. "When I thought you died, the idea of losing you sent me over the edge. The Kyuubi pretty did the rest for me."

"That long ago?" Sasuke asks. "Well now I feel all guilty. I've loved you for a couple months, you loved me for years."

Naruto snuggles up against Sasuke's chest, sighing with content. "It's fine. Just you being here makes it all better."

* * *

**Sorry for such a short chapter, but writing so much SasuNaru was making me nauseous. Sorry to my SasuNaru loving readers, but I just don't get it. Now you're probably confused as to why it's in here at all, but it has a reason, don't worry. Please leave a review so I can improve my writing, and I give you a big 'ARIGATO' for reading!**


	3. 3: Irreplaceable

**Couldn't resist, I breezed through this chapter. I got a bit of inspiration, so I don't think it's bad despite the fast writing. Anyway, this one is in Kiba's POV and is like three times as long as the last chapter. Enjoy!**

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Kiba kicks the dirt at his feet aimlessly. Shino is growing impatient, he's been standing here silently for almost ten minutes now. Kiba hasn't said a word.

Kiba ran into Shino on his way to the hospital. Shino had suspected Kiba would be there, and he was going to check on him. Though he didn't show it, Shino was rather confused that Kiba wasn't at Akamaru's side.

"Are you going to talk any time soon, Kiba?" Shino asks.

"I am, it's just...hard..." he grunts. Kiba takes a deep breath, mustering what little courage he has. He feels like such a coward. "There's a reason I was so...upset, back at the gate."

"I was meaning to ask you about that," Shino admits.

"There's a lot more to this than you realize..." Kiba says. Kiba grunts, tugging at his own hair in frustration. This is more difficult than he could ever have imagined.

"Kiba, is something bothering you?" Shino asks, concerned. "You seem really...on-edge."

"Shino..." Kiba starts, taking yet another deep breath. "I love Naruto."

For what's probably the first time in his life, Shino's jaw drops. If he could see past his goggles, Kiba is sure that Shino's eyes are as wide as they could possibly get. Shino tries to choke out words, but it comes out as a low gargle.

"Just...don't hate me until I finish explaining why I'm telling you this," Kiba defends. Kiba tells Shino about his talk with Kurenai-sensei. He tells Shino that she knows about Kiba being gay, and that she's trying to help him win Naruto over. When Kiba finally finishes, now short of breath, Shino's jaw has risen about an inch but is still hanging open.

"This is...certainly an interesting day," Shino says. "Three guys come out of the closet, two of them are together, and the third is jealous. Ugh, what a mess."

"Preaching to the choir, Shino."

"So where do I come in on this, exactly?" Shino asks.

"I just need you to be there when I talk to Naruto about this," the Inuzuka explains. "Emotional support."

"Just me?"

"Well, I was _gonna _tell Hinata, but..."

"Bad idea," Shino finishes.

"Exactly. But I'm gonna talk to my sister Hana tonight," he says. "To be honest, I'm terrified of how she'll react."

"If she's really family, she won't think of you any differently," says Shino. "It was a bit of a shock at first, but when you said 'don't hate me', I was actually mad at you, Kiba."

"Why would you be mad at me?" Kiba asks, amazed. "I just poured my soul out to you and you're mad?"

"I **was** mad because you think I wouldn't accept you the way you are," Shino says. "You're still the same Kiba from my team when we were Genin. You had a secret, but who doesn't have secrets?"

There's a long silence between the two of them. "Thank you, Shino."

"I'm actually...well, honored that you would trust me with this kind of information," Shino says. Barely able to contain his feelings, Kiba throws my arms around Shino in a hug. He hesitates, but wraps one arm around his friend. Kiba will have to remember to write this down as the closest Shino will EVER get to giving him a hug. The Inuzuka pulls away from his hug, barely able to restrain himself from hugging his friend again.

"Now, you should go check on Akamaru," Shino orders. "I hear he's not doing well."

Kiba's mind briefly distracted from my problems with Naruto, his heart grows heavy with grief. With all his personal troubles, he got selfish and abandoned his partner when he was needed most. Kiba, thanking Shino again, runs as fast as he can to the Hospital.

Kiba steps through the automatic doors of the hospital, panting again. Why is he always running today?

"You must be Kiba," the nurse behind the counter gathers. "Akamaru is just down this hallway, I'll take you to him."

The nurse leads Kiba through the hospital. Kiba crinkles his nose as he passes every door. He doesn't really know how to explain the smell of sick people, but when you're an Inuzuka, it is _not _good. Hospitals get the worst of it, too. If he so much as steps into an ICU ward, he'll probably faint.

"Akamaru is right through here," the nurse says. "Brace yourself." The nurse opens the door slowly. What Kiba sees makes him want to puke.

Chakra is gathered around Lady Hokage's hands. Her hands, placed just at the bottom of Akamaru's spine, are shaking. Her face and arms are beaded with sweat, Kiba can smell it on her. Hana, worried sick about her brothers friend, sits in the corner. Tsume is nowhere to be seen.

"Kiba," Hana says, standing from her chair.

"Take him outside," the Hokage orders. She lowers her hands, the chakra around them fading away. "Tell him."

"Tell me what?" Kiba asks. Hana grabs Kiba by one of his wrists, pulling him into the hallway. Hana drags Kiba across the hospital, finding the most secluded place she can. In the end, she only sighs.

"Hana, what's wrong with Akamaru?" Kiba whines, his voice cracking slightly. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"Akamaru is alive, and his condition is stable," Hana confirms. Kiba breathes a sigh of relief, but his sister continues before he can finish his exhale. "But his spine is...well, Tsunade compared it to the remains of a train crash."

Kiba's stomach churned. The very idea of Akamaru being in so much pain is devastating. "But she can fix it, right?"

Hana simply shakes her head. "Akamaru's been paralyzed from the neck down. He won't walk again, ever."

Kiba freezes. Akamaru's paralyzed? He can't walk? That means that their time as partners on missions is over. No more riding from place to place on Akamaru's back when he was just that lazy. No more Fang Over Fang in combat. No more giving him treats for a job well done.

"Kiba...it's not right, letting Akamaru live like this," Hana says darkly.

Kiba, eyes stricken with fear, stumbles slightly and catches himself with the wall. "You can't...no, you can't put Akamaru down...!"

"It's the only thing we can do," Hana says, a tear rolling down her face. "Akamaru won't be living if he just lies on the ground all the time. His health will deteriorate with no exercise, and he'll suffer until nature takes him. This way, there's no pain. He'll go quietly."

Kiba bursts into tears. He covers his face with his hands, but the tears leak through his fingers and drop off his wrists. He buries his face in his sleeve, but soon his sleeve is soaked through. Hana hugs him, trying her best not to cry but starting to fail.

"Kiba," she says, pulling away. "You can't be selfish right now. Tsunade is leaving the decision to you whether she goes through with it or not. But...when you make your choice, don't think about yourself. Think about Akamaru."

With that, Hana leaves him to his tears. Kiba weeps like a baby for who knows how long, until he couldn't cry another tear if he tried. His head is aching, his whole body feels like it's made of lead. He sits on the hard tiles of the hospital, either unable or unwilling to get up.

A few minutes later, Shino shows up. He helps Kiba to his feet. "Akamaru just woke up," he reports. "I thought you might want to see him."

The boy nods. Shino leads him through the hospital and back to Akamaru's room. Everybody exits the room, allowing Kiba to enter alone.

"_Hey...Kiba..._" Akamaru greets weakly. "_Ya know, this whole 'paralysis' thing kind of sucks._"

"Akamaru, you're so stupid," Kiba jokes. He strokes Akamaru's back briefly before pulling away. Akamaru couldn't feel that. Instead, Kiba sets his hand behind Akamaru's ears and scratches.

"_That feels nice..._" Akamaru says. "_Well, I figure they'll be putting me down soon, huh?_"

"I won't let them!" Kiba says, tears reappearing on his face. "You're my best friend, I could never—"

"_Kiba, it's alright,_" Akamaru says. "_I'm okay with it._"

"How could you be okay with it? How could you be okay with...with dying?"

"_It's like I said, Kiba. This paralysis thing sucks. It'd be a lot easier just to let go, you know?_"

"But...Akamaru..." Kiba whines weakly. "Your my bud. We've gone through everything together."

"_Yeah, we did_," Akamaru confirms. "_But I'm not really the same as I was then. I'm a lot weaker now._"

Kiba sits in stunned silence. Akamaru _wants _to die?

"I don't know what I would do without you," Kiba admits. "You're...everything to me."

"_Ah, you're exaggerating_"Akamaru teases. "_You've got Naruto, right?_"

"Not really," I admit. "Akamaru...they've left the decision up to me to decide whether...whether they put you down or let you live."

"_I'm sad that you haven't already chosen, Kiba,_"Akamaru admits. "_I love you Kiba, but you're a real idiot sometimes._"

"I've been told that," Kiba says. "It was mostly Hana, but I've been told."

There's a long silence between them. Eventually, Kiba finally speaks up again.

"So, that's what you want?" Kiba asks. "You want them to go through with it?"

Akamaru whimpers slightly, but then nods. Kiba weeps, throwing his arms around his dog and embracing him. Akamaru nuzzles against Kiba's neck, licking the fang markings on his face. Kiba cries into Akamaru's coat, staining it a dark shade of gray.

"I love you, boy," Kiba says. "I'll never forget you."

With that, Kiba leaves his dog and walks out into the hallway. A group of Kiba's friends, nurses, his family, and Lady Tsunade stand in a semicircle around him when he exits.

"Have you decided, Kiba?" Tsunade asks.

"Akamaru wants to be put down," He says as yet more tears escape his eyes. "I won't deny him."

Kiba's friends swarm around him, hugging him and telling him that it's gonna be okay. They're wrong. Nothing will be okay, not for a long time. Kiba can get another ninja hound in a few hours. Akamaru...irreplaceable.

"I'll make the preparations," Tsunade says darkly. She gives Kiba a quick hug before walking out of sight.

"Come on, Kiba," Hana says. "You've said your goodbyes. I don't want you here when...what happens happens. Let's get you home."

Kiba follows Hana home in a daze. His body is numb. He doesn't cry. He doesn't feel sad, not anymore. Just empty. Kiba with no Akamaru is like...cake without frosting. It's there, but it's not really what it should be. That's how Kiba feels.

Hana helps Kiba up to his room. As he crawls into bed, his thoughts wander. Back in that hospital, right at this moment, Tsunade is killing his best friend. She'll inject him with some medicine through a syringe, and tell him to relax. And then...he'll just go. Akamaru will be gone from the world forever.

His tears come back as these images invade his thoughts. He weeps into his pillow, his previous sobbing replaced with screams of pure agony. His pillowcase, now completely ruined, is thrown off as Kiba hugs his pillow. Though it seems childish, Kiba holds the pillow like he used to hold Akamaru when he was just a pup. When their best move was having Akamaru pee on his opponents. This memory brings a brief smile to Kiba's face, but is soon replaced with more tears as he remembers that the subject of these fond memories is now gone.

Kiba lies in his bed, fully dressed, and the numbness returns. He waits there, expecting the sadness to return as well.

Instead, a different emotion appears in him. It can't be described with words like anger, or rage. It's fury, plain and simple. Kiba is furious with one man.

Sasuke Uchiha. The one who paralyzed Akamaru.

Kiba throws the blanket off him, hurling the pillow out of sight. Kiba runs over to his window, barely able to work the lock with his trembling hands. When he finally gets it unlocked and open, he throws himself out the window. He lands nimbly on the ground before bursting into the streets of the village.

He runs around aimlessly for a while, grunting like an animal every time he sees someone who looks even remotely like Sasuke. After nearly half an hour of aimless searching, he gets his bearings. He takes a deep breath through his nose, trying to pick out his scent. It shouldn't be too hard to find as long as he's in the villiage.

A certain scent rings correct in Kiba's mind. Sasuke is only a mile away from him, walking down the street with Naruto. The smells are just close enough that they might be holding hands.

Fury reaching all new heights, Kiba launches himself into the air. He only touches the ground twice before slamming down on the pavement right in front of the couple, making Naruto jump but not startling Sasuke in the least.

"Kiba, what are you doing here?" Naruto asks. "We're kind of in the middle of something."

Luckily, they aren't holding hands. The two of them are standing abnormally close to each other, though, to show their love without stating it outright. Kiba doubts they want to flaunt it in public. He shakes the distractions from his mind, because nothing can compare to Kiba's anger at Sasuke. Sasuke pulls his hand away from Naruto's, sensing the impending danger.

Kiba cuts right to the chase. "Fang Over Fang!" he yells. A single spiral of pure hatred shoots through the air and straight at the black haired boy. Sasuke jumps high into the air, nimbly dodging Kiba's attack.

"That attack is more difficult to dodge when there's two of you," Sasuke yells. "Where's your mutt, Kiba? He limping cuz I hurt is paw?"

Tears streaming down his face, Kiba screams. "No, he's_** dead!**_" Kiba roars. He throws himself at Sasuke again, narrowly missing. "He's dead, you son of a bitch..." Tears escape his eyes.

Sasuke's sarcastic attitude comes to a screeching halt. Kiba throws punch after punch, Sasuke dodging every one of them. Sasuke's face is blank, horrified even.

"I'm sorry, Kiba," Sasuke says.

"No you're not!" Kiba cries. "You've killed too many people to care about a dog! You've killed anybody who stood in your way!"

Distracted by Kiba's harsh words, Sasuke loses focus for just long enough to give Kiba an opening. Fist aimed straight at Sasuke's face, he was determined to make this hurt. Bad.

Kiba shuts his eyes, screaming as he feels his fist connect with Sasuke's cheek. He sits there, swinging his other fist through the air and slamming it across his other cheek. He does this twice more, one more punch from each hand, before opening his eyes. When he opens them, he wants nothing more than to curl up and die.

Naruto stands between Kiba and Sasuke. Naruto's cheeks are black and blue, a cut below Naruto's left eye is bleeding profusely. His lip is busted as well.

"Naruto..." Kiba moans. "Why did you do that?"

"It isn't Sasuke's fault Akamaru is dead, Kiba," Naruto says. "It's yours."

Kiba is shocked. He takes a step away from Naruto, whose cheeks are already healing from the Kyuubi's chakra.

"How...?"

"You attacked Sasuke without being provoked," Naruto says dryly. "Sasuke only defended himself. Sasuke didn't kill Akamaru, Kiba. _You did._"

Kiba backs away from Naruto, disbelief plastered all over his face. How could Naruto say those things? Kiba would never cause harm to Akamaru, not on purpose! But...Kiba and Akamaru _did _attack first when Sasuke made no signs of hostility. They charged in recklessly. And Akamaru paid the price.

Trying to hide his fresh tears, Kiba turns away from Naruto. He runs away, knocking people away as fast as he can just to get away. He can't stand to be in public a second longer. He rushes through the crowds, choking back his tears just until he gets home.

"Kiba, where the hell have you—" his mother starts as he barges into the house. He rushes right past her, swearing and cussing like it's his job. He yells about how unfair life is, how he hates the village, how Akamaru shouldn't have died, and probably about another million things that Tsume couldn't make out through Kiba's sobs. She tries to wrap her arms around him in a hug, despite that she usually isn't the most loving of mothers. The second she tries, though, Kiba shrugs her off.

"Just leave me alone!" Kiba screams. He barges off to his room, slamming his door behind him. His sobs are probably heard for miles.

"What was that about?" Tsume asks, turning to her daughter Hana.

"He's upset about Akamaru, of course," she says. "He isn't thinking rationally. Let him sleep, cool off. Talk to him in the morning."

Tsume nods, accepting her daughter's advice. The two of them sit together in silence for what seems like hours. Then, a knocking on the door breaks the silence.

Tsume opens the door, revealing Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuga. The two of them wear somber expressions (so, Shino's normal face).

"This isn't a good time, guys," Tsume says flatly. "Kiba...he's not taking it well."

"Which is why we need to talk to him," Shino says. "Please, mam. It's important."

Though she still doesn't think it's a good idea, Tsume nods and allows them to enter the house. The two of them make a beeline for Kiba's room, which is filled with sobs and muffled screams. The very sound of it makes Hinata tear up.

"He's taking it so hard," Hinata says, pointing out the obvious.

"Akamaru was everything to him," Shino says. "Now he's gone."

The door to Kiba's room swings open. Kiba's eyes are red from all the crying, making Hinata approach for a hug. Kiba pushes her away, though.

"Not now, Hinata," Kiba says harshly. "What do you want?"

"We heard about what Naruto said to you," Shino says flatly. "When everyone heard about it, they were furious with Naruto."

"Naruto-kun learned the hard way that Shikamaru's Shadow Stitching technique can throw vending machines," Hinata says. It's odd to hear her talk negatively about Naruto. Kiba knows that she's been crushing hard on him for years, but now...it sounds like she isn't interested at all.

"That still doesn't explain why you're here," Kiba groans.

"We just want to let you know that..." Hinata pauses. "We're here for you, Kiba."

Kiba smiles as a few more tears spill out of him. He wraps them both in his arms, hugging them and thanking them for being such good friends. When he pulled away, Kiba invited them to come into his room.

"Hinata, there's something I told Shino earlier that I think you should hear," Kiba says.

Shino perks up. "Kiba, are you sure about this?"

Kiba nods. "This morning, at the gate, you remember how upset I was?" Hinata nods. "There's a lot more than not liking Sasuke that caused that reaction. When those two kissed..."

"What are you getting at, Kiba?" Hinata asks innocently.

"I'm saying that..." Kiba starts, gathering the shattered remains of his pride. "I'm in love with Naruto."

Hinata's face turns bright red as she falls back onto Kiba's bed. The two boys look her over, seeing that she's completely lost consciousness.

"Somehow I knew that would happen," Shino admits. Kiba's face is stricken with fear, terrified that Hinata thinks he's a monster.

"She doesn't hate you, Kiba," Shino says. "That may have been the biggest surprise of her life."

"Then why did she faint?"

"Hinata faints at everything," Shino says. "Give it a few minutes, she'll come to."

The two of them sit in silence. After several minutes of Hinata's snoring, Shino speaks up.

"Did you talk to Hana about...you know?" Shino asks.

"Not yet," Kiba frowns. "Got a little distracted."

"Oh, right," Shino says. "Now that Hinata knows, are you gonna tell her?"

"I don't know yet," Kiba admits. "If I tell Hana, she might tell Mom. And that would _not _be good."

"Homophobe?"

Kiba winces. Shino knows his secret, but hearing it out loud is...unsettling. "I ever tell you why my Dad ran off?"

Shino hesitates. He'd never heard a thing about Kiba's father. The fact that he wasn't around intrigued Shino, but he knew better than to drill Kiba with questions that he most certainly wouldn't want to answer.

"No, you haven't."

"He and my Mom were just sitting in the living room one day. It didn't seem out of the ordinary, so I just walked to my room and went about my normal business. There was a loud crash and a lot of yelling in the living room. It took me a while to really get what had happened."

"What happened?" Shino asks plainly.

"My Dad...kind of came out to my Mom," Kiba says. "He wasn't straight up gay like I am, he was just bi. He admitted he had feelings for men in the past, but now his affections were only for her."

"Then...why did he leave?" Shino asks.

"Mom was livid," Kiba chokes out. "She smashed a lamp over his head, screaming that he should have told her he was a 'faggot' and other bullcrap like that. When she told me all of this, I was furious. Furious that she told me all of these things, while secretly they insulted me as well. I couldn't show it, though. She'd have caught on."

"That's...the saddest thing I've ever heard in my life," Shino says. Hinata stirs, redirecting the attention of the teens.

"W-what happened?" Hinata moans. She sits up slowly, one of her hands held on the top of her head.

"Kiba came out to you," Shino blurts out. Before I can scold him, Hinata faints again.

Kiba smiles for the first time in a while. "Something tells me that might happen again." He sighs. "This is gonna take a while."

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**TT_TT writing this made me so sad, not even joking when I say that I teared up when Akamaru died. Don't think it's because I hate Akamaru (far from it, believe me). This is a MAJOR plot point for the future. In any case, thank you for reading! Please leave a review so I can improve my writing, and for all of you people who like _that _kind of fanfic, I promise lemon next chapter ;)**


	4. 4: A Night of Love and of Pain

**Alright, my lemon-loving readers, here you go. This chapter is almost completely lemon, so you if you're into this kind of thing, I hope you enjoy it. If you're not comfortable with it, though, just skip the bottom of the page and I'll leave a quick summary so you don't miss out on the story. Enjoy!**

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Naruto pants loudly as he and Sasuke run through the village. Another crashing sound behind him suggests that Shikamaru just threw another vending machine.

"Why did you say that, Naruto?" Shikamaru yells. His shadows stretch out for Naruto, but fail as the two teens leap into the air. Shikamaru, panting on the ground, simply watches as Naruto and Sasuke sprint across the rooftops. The two of them just run, with no real direction, until they find themselves standing on top of Naruto's apartment complex. The building is small and slowly falling into disrepair, which Naruto finds embarrassing. Not like he can afford to live anywhere else, though. Naruto gestures for Sasuke to follow as he searches his pockets for his keys.

Naruto shut the door to his apartment, nervous. Nervous of what Sasuke will think of his apartment. Naruto has no clue of what kind of living conditions Sasuke has become accustomed to, so Naruto hopes for the best.

"Sweet place," Sasuke says truthfully.

"Really?" Naruto asks in disbelief. "I figured you were used to living in better places in this."

"Are you kidding? The Akatsuki's hideout was in a cave," Sasuke laughs. Naruto frowns, putting a hand on his stomach. Sasuke doesn't understand the gesture, but he does scold himself for bringing up the Akatsuki. He should have known that was a sore topic for Naruto.

"Hey Naruto, you know what I've been dying to do?" Sasuke asks seductively. As Naruto turns to ask, he's cut off by Sasuke's lips pressing roughly against his. Sasuke pushes Naruto against the door, moaning softly into the kiss. His tongue enters Naruto's mouth, assaulting Naruto's tongue with his own. Naruto hesitates, not sure what to make of Sasuke's sudden aggressiveness.

Sasuke breaks the kiss roughly, a mysterious look in his eye. "Sasuke, what's gotten into you?"

"I want you, Naruto," he says plainly.

Naruto breaks into a sweat. Today was his first kiss, and now Sasuke wants to do...that?

"Isn't this a little too fast?" Naruto asks nervously, eyes wide in fear. He tries to back away from Sasuke, but quickly remembers he's pushed against a door. Sasuke hovers his face close to Naruto, licking him seductively across his whiskers. Naruto, taken aback by his sudden lust, pushes Sasuke away from him.

"Naruto, don't you love me?" Sasuke asks. "This is the ultimate way to prove it."

Naruto still hesitates, despite Sasuke's latest statement. Is this really the only way to show Sasuke he loves him? The only thing Naruto knows about romance he learned from shitty vampire movies, but aren't those a lot more mushy than this? Taking it slow, that kind of thing? Or is that only in movies?

"So what's it gonna be, Naruto?" Sasuke asks in frustration. Naruto lowers his hands, giving in to Sasuke's needs. Naruto has no desire to sleep with Sasuke yet, but if that's the only way...

Sasuke grins evilly. "Then let's go to your bed."

Sasuke grabs Naruto by his wrist, slowly leading him to the bed. He orders Naruto to sit down, and Naruto obeys. He has absolutely no idea how to start this, so he's just going to let Sasuke do all the work.

Sasuke climbs onto Naruto's lap, purring softly beneath his breath. Sasuke removes Naruto's jacket and shirt slowly, forcing a blush out of Naruto as his muscular chest is revealed.

"Are you nervous, Naruto?" Sasuke asks. He nibbles on Naruto's ear gently. "Don't be."

He takes Naruto's lips in a passionate kiss, exploring every inch of Naruto's cavern. Naruto subtly tries to resist Sasuke, but fails as his tongue is taken. When Sasuke breaks the kiss, he stands. Sasuke removes his own shirt, revealing his muscled body. His abs are refined but not bulging, his pecs toned but not excessively so. Naruto admits he's beautiful, though still nervous of what's to come.

Sasuke leans down to Naruto's waist, sticking a single finger below the waist of his pants. Naruto whimpers slightly, making Sasuke chuckle. Sasuke slowly slides down Naruto's pants, leaving him in only his underwear. Naruto's black boxers are revealed, only the slightest of an erection visible through them. Whatever Sasuke's doing, it isn't really working.

"Do you want to take mine off, Naruto?" Sasuke offers. "It's only fair."

Naruto swallows nervously, but nods. He reaches forward, untying the purple rope around Sasuke's waist. Not thinking it through, Sasuke's sword falls to the ground loudly. Sasuke kicks it behind him, his eyes fixated on Naruto's exposed body. Naruto pulls lightly on the waistband of Sasuke's pants, not sure of what he'll see beneath them. When his pants fall, however, Naruto breathes a sigh of relief to see gray boxers. One thing, however, does disturb him.

Sasuke's erection is _very _obvious to Naruto. The thing is easily eight inches long, and thick. If what Naruto's heard about gay sex is true, this is going to be a painful night.

"And my underwear?" Sasuke says. Gulping again, Naruto slides a finger behind the waistband of Sasuke's underwear. He hesitates again, but a Sharingan glare from Sasuke was all it took to tell him to hurry up. Naruto shut his eyes, and pulled.

Flailing out from it's bindings, Sasuke's erect cock smacked Naruto's cheek. Naruto hadn't even realized he was that close, but quickly found out as it hit his face with a loud SMACK. Naruto whimpered at its sight, making Sasuke chuckle.

"Now, let's see what you're hiding in there," Sasuke growls seductively. Pushing Naruto flat on his back, Sasuke kneels down to Naruto's clothed member. Now beginning to erect his lover, Sasuke slowly removes Naruto's boxers with his teeth. Sasuke sighs as he sees Naruto in his full glory. Naruto's isn't as big as he would have liked, only about six inches, and not really all that thick, either, but it will do. Sasuke grinned as he placed his hands above Naruto's shoulders. He crawls onto Naruto's lap, grinding his erection against Naruto's. The two of them moan loudly, Sasuke louder than the other. Naruto is still nervous.

"That feel good, Naruto?" Sasuke purrs as he grinds a little harder. Naruto emits another moan, making Sasuke smile devilishly. Sasuke rolls off of Naruto, his stiff member now pointing to the ceiling as he lays flat on his back.

"Come here, Naruto," he orders. "Suck me off."

"Say what?" Naruto screeches. This had never even occurred to Naruto, but the idea of it is _not _appealing. Having Sasuke in his mouth is one thing when it's a kiss, but when it's his...what the hell?

"You heard what I said," Sasuke says. "Now come here."

Naruto, now sweating from his internal struggle, obeys his lover. He crawls over to Sasuke, placing his lips just inches away from the head of Sasuke's dick. He hovers closer, hesitating before putting the head in his mouth. Sasuke moans loudly, harming the blond as he grips his golden hair tightly. Naruto coughs a little as he tries to take more of Sasuke's length in his mouth, but starts choking after only a couple of inches.

"Come on, please tell me you can do better than that," Sasuke whines.

"I can't, it's too big..." Naruto admits, wiping away some drool that had creeped out from the corners of his mouth. "Just the head is a pain to get."

Sasuke groans loudly. "We'll work on it some other time. For now, let's get right to the best part."

Sasuke, thoroughly scaring Naruto, flips them over and puts Sasuke on top. Sasuke plants another kiss on Naruto's lips. He stands, asking Naruto to do the oddest thing.

"Get on your hands and knees, face away from me," Sasuke says.

"Sasuke...I'm scared," Naruto chokes out.

"Don't be a baby, people do this all the time," Sasuke says. Naruto doubts that most people are taking eight inchers, but he keeps that to himself. He obeys the raven's order, getting on his hands and knees. Sasuke holds two fingers in front of Naruto's face. "Suck them."

"Your fingers?" Naruto asks in disbelief. "When was the last time you washed your hands?"

"Naruto..." Sasuke groans. "Just do it!"

Naruto takes Sasuke's fingers in his mouth. Naruto tastes butter on his fingers, no doubt from the popcorn at the movies. He licks all around Sasuke's fingers, making sure they're wet.

"Alright, now this is gonna hurt at first," Sasuke admits. Naruto whimpers as Sasuke places his hand next to Naruto's entrance. Naruto nods, giving his lover permission to begin. Sasuke slowly slides a single finger into Naruto's ass.

"Gahh, Sasuke!" Naruto cries. He squeezes the sheets on the bed tightly until his knuckles are white. Sasuke, reluctant to be taking this so slowly, starts moving his finger in and out of Naruto.

It stings so much Naruto is on the verge of tears. Sasuke moans in pleasure as he strokes his throbbing member with his free hand.

"God, Naruto, you're so tight," Sasuke purrs. Naruto is trembling at the situation, absolutely terrified of Sasuke. "I'm gonna put in another finger, you ready?"

Before Naruto can give an an answer, Sasuke slides in a second finger. Naruto cries out in pain, slamming his fist into the wall and damaging it. Sasuke slides his fingers in up to his knuckles, tears pouring from Naruto's face. Sasuke scissors his fingers, making Naruto plea for him to stop as he widens his entrance.

"Please...stop..." Naruto pleads. "Please, it hurts..."

Sasuke holds back his anger. In truth, his lover's pain is actually turning him on even more, but he won't tell Naruto that. "I'm sorry, Naruto. But this is how it has to be."

Naruto wipes away his tears, nodding reluctantly for Sasuke to continue. Sasuke slides his fingers in and out quickly, coaxing a moan out of Naruto. Sasuke smiles mischievously, scissoring his fingers once again to prepare Naruto for what's to come.

"Do you think you're ready for me, Naruto?" Sasuke asks seductively. Naruto shakes his head, but Sasuke thinks this is about ready as he's gonna get. Sasuke retracts his fingers from Naruto, forcing out a small yelp as he slides out.

"Sasuke, just..." Naruto starts. "Please be gentle."

"Sex isn't gentle, Naruto," Sasuke says. "Tonight, this is really going to hurt. But I promise it will be better next time."

Naruto cringes at the very thought of it. There's gonna be a next time...?

Naruto still facing the wall, Sasuke places his throbbing head at Naruto's entrance. Sasuke moans loudly as he pushes in the head, planting a tender kiss on Naruto's trembling shoulder. Naruto screams in agony, burying his face in the sheets and fighting the tears. It feels like Sasuke just tore a new hole in Naruto.

To avoid Naruto's constant whining, Sasuke waits for him to adjust to his size. When Naruto seems to relax, Sasuke slides in three more inches. Naruto cries out in pain again, but Sasuke only rolls his eyes. He's such a baby.

"Sasuke...don't wait for me to get comfortable," Naruto says, surprising Sasuke. "This is gonna hurt like hell no matter what. I'd rather you just get started."

Sasuke smiles, taking his lover up on that offer. He slides in more, but Naruto bites his lip hard. Sasuke keeps sliding in, but it's difficult. Naruto, **clearly **still a virgin, is rather hard to push into. His inner walls are all trying to push Sasuke out, but he fights it. Naruto screams into a pillow at the pain.

Soon, Sasuke's manhood is totally buried in Naruto's ass. His tight walls clench around Sasuke's cock, making him moan.

"Naruto, you're so tight..." Sasuke grunts. "It's incredible. I'm gonna start moving now, so get ready."

Before Naruto can object (despite his previous statement), Sasuke pulls back on his cock but does not come out fully. With absolutely no warning, he slams his dick in hard, jabbing it against Naruto's virgin prostate. Naruto cries out, both in agony and in ecstasy. Sasuke repeats the technique, hurting less this time but increasing the pleasure.

Sasuke rams Naruto's ass violently, the sounds of skin clapping against skin filling the apartment. Naruto's muffled moans and screams, along with Sasuke's, are probably heard for a good distance. But he doesn't care. Sasuke is way too full of lust to care who hears.

Naruto, on the other hand, is ashamed. If Sakura were to walk by, would she hear them? Sasuke already broke her heart once today.

"Naruto...I can't last much longer," Sasuke says. He wraps his fingers around Naruto's fully erect length, and pumps him quickly in tempo with his own thrust. Naruto groans in pleasure as Sasuke jerks him. His backside cries out in pain as Sasuke slams into him over and over, but Naruto is too afraid of what Sasuke would say if he told him to stop. Sasuke's breathing is heavy as he begins to thrust even faster.

"N-Naruto, I'm gonna cum!" he yells. Only a second later, Naruto feels his insides light up as Sasuke's creamy essence shoots into him. Sasuke twists Naruto's cock in just a certain way, sending Naruto over the edge as well. His sperm shoots out of his cock, coating the sheets beneath him in his seed. Naruto releases another spurt of cum before his orgasm comes to a close, Sasuke's ending only a moment before. Sasuke pulls out of Naruto, a single strand of cum connecting his head to Naruto's entrance. He swats it, breaking the strand and sits next to Naruto, who is still panting.

"Naruto, that was amazing," Sasuke says. "How do you feel?"

"Hurt..." Naruto chokes out. "And...tired..."

Naruto collapses, coating his stomach in his own seed as he passes out. Sasuke rolls his eyes, rolling over to get some sleep as well.

Naruto's dreams are not pleasant as he relives the events of the night he and Sasuke just shared.

* * *

**Alright, here's your summary: Naruto invited Sasuke over to his apartment. After only a moment, Sasuke got ten different ways of horny and practically forced Naruto into bed. There, the two of them did the dirty deed, much to Naruto's distaste and pain. Afterwards, Naruto passed out and Sasuke simply rolled over to go to sleep. Naruto had nightmares about their sex.**

**I really hope I did a good job at my first serious lemon. This was both for my readers' enjoyment of the sheer sake of lemony goodness, but it has a place in the story and isn't just random sex. I'm beginning to find that my Naruto chapters end up a lot shorter than my Kiba ones. I guess I can just empathize with Kiba more or something, I don't really know, but this one may just be short because of the lemon. Next chapter will be from Kiba's POV, and things are gonna get interesting quick. Please leave a review so I can improve my writing, and thank you so much for reading!**


	5. 5: In Which the Dog Schemes with a Snake

**Alright, I'm throwing another chapter at you guys. Here, the plot is gonna start to thicken as Kiba makes a new friend :) It's Kiba's POV, so enjoy!**

* * *

Kiba lays back in bed, sighing contently. When Hinata finally woke up again, he told her again, she fainted again, woke up _again_, and he told her _again_, she finally stayed awake. She told Kiba that she was okay with it, and wasn't angry because she knows that she can't make Naruto happy the way a man can now. Kiba knows it hurt her to say those things, even though they were true.

Despite his sorrow for losing Akamaru, his thoughts are held elsewhere. He's decided that tomorrow, he will go and confess his feelings for Naruto. He will hope Naruto accepts him, but truthfully doesn't know what he'll do if he's rejected. It would crush him.

Kiba takes a deep breath, turning over and trying to get some sleep. As he takes this breath, though, an odd scent catches his nose. Sweat, mixed with testosterone. But judging by the direction, and the special scent of his crush, Kiba fears where it's coming from.

"Naruto..." Kiba mumbles to himself. The smell of sweat is getting intense now, worrying the Inuzuka male.

He sits there for a few minutes, the scent only getting stronger and stronger. Sweat is on another person just by Naruto, and Kiba fears the worst. Could they really be doing...it? Naruto would never allow that, there's no way it could happen.

As the scent becomes near unbearable to his powerful nose, Kiba gives in and decides to go see if he's right. He sneaks over to his window, silently opening it and leaping into the night.

Unlike this morning, where he ran hastily and loudly across the rooftops, he runs silent. He doesn't dare make a sound and risk being discovered. As he approaches Naruto's apartment, the stench hits him like a brick wall. Covering his nose with the front of his shirt, Kiba focuses his chakra into his feet and climbs up the outer wall of Naruto's apartment complex.

He climbs to the top floor, where Naruto's room is located. Sneaking onto a balcony, he peers into the window. It's dark in there, pretty hard to make out, but what he sees could be nothing else. The stench says it all, even if he couldn't see.

Naruto is passed out on his bed, stark naked. Face-down on the sheets, with brown and purple bruises on his exposed rear. Normally, this would drive Kiba up a wall in lust, but right now he feels only rage. Because beside Naruto's unconscious body, lays the sleeping Uchiha. Sasuke is also naked, but clearly unharmed. He did this to Naruto.

Unable to look at it a second longer, Kiba chokes back tears as he sprints back to his home. He stomps loudly on the rooftops as he runs, the tears getting closer and closer to the surface. When he finally reaches his home, Kiba throws himself through his window and directly onto his bed. He buries his face in his pillow, weeping as the images of Naruto and Sasuke naked. Naruto bruised and bloodied, all caused by that Uchiha bastard.

His sobs begin to slow, but his sorrow stays constant. He had heard of various ways to ease pain in times like this, but none of them were very pretty. Most were impossible for him, but he knows of one that could be done quite easily. Kiba hesitates before trying this, but as the memories of today: Naruto kissing Sasuke, Akamaru dying, seeing them in bed, his sorrow is increased to all new levels. He reaches for his pouch, retrieving a single kunai.

Kiba rolled up the left sleeve of his jacket, revealing the inside of his tan wrist. He didn't really know how cutting was supposed to help, but anything that could erase this sorrow is enough to convince him it's a cure for cancer. He grips the kunai shakily, placing it about three inches below his wrist.

Kiba seethes as the kunai breaks his tender skin. He traces the kunai down about an inch before pulling it away. The first cut represents the kiss between Sasuke and Naruto. The way Naruto had taken him back so easily makes Kiba shudder, and he shudders again as he sees his warm blood trickling down his hand. He breathes a sigh of relief, impressed that this actually helps. It gives him a physical thing to look at, it represents one of Kiba's great pains in his life. It will help even more to see them heal, and just maybe his emotional pain will heal as well.

Less hesitant now that he knows how it feels, he cuts himself again. This one is longer, and deeper. It bleeds heavily, the pain making Kiba break into a sweat. Both from the memories and the cut, a couple tears manage to squeeze themselves out of Kiba's eyes. This one, the more serious cut, represents his loss of Akamaru. His lifelong friend can never be replaced, all he can do is mourn his loss. He wonders what has been done with Akamaru's body. It isn't uncommon for the Inuzuka clan to host funerals for dogs, but these are usually private affairs. Only Inuzukas and invited guests would be allowed to attend such events.

Again, Kiba sighs with relief as his pain leaves his heart and enters his wrist. When the bleeding finally stops, Kiba gives himself a final cut. This one isn't as deep as his second cut, but just as long. It bleeds just as the second one, running down his hand and dripping off his fingertips. He realizes too late as the blood has made a small puddle on his bedsheets. Right now, though, the Inuzuka is far too preoccupied with his cutting to care. He sighs as his third cut, the one representing his seeing of Naruto and Sasuke in bed, stops bleeding.

The three cuts on his wrist, seeing them all there in front of him, makes even more tears escape Kiba's eyes. He can easily say that this has been the worst day of his life, it's only competitor being the day Tsume kicked out his dad. With three things so intensely painful on a single day, Kiba sobs into his pillow. He's almost tempted to give himself a fourth, smaller cut to represent his Father. He can't deny that he misses him, but it's been for so long that those wounds have healed.

Kiba repositions himself on his bed, putting pressure on his left hand that he really shouldn't have. All three of his cuts sting and bleed once again, emitting a loud yelp from him. He throws his hand over his mouth, spattering his chin and neck with his own blood. He pulls his hand away from his blood-stained face, dropping it on the bed next to him as he sinks into the mattress.

The pain in his wrist is near unbearable. He wants to stop the bleeding, find something to make the pain stop, but he knows that wouldn't help him. The point of the cutting was to distract himself from the pain. Truth be told, it's working.

His wrist's pain suddenly subsides. He feels the cuts on his wrists close as the skin crawls over them. He takes a deep breath through his nose, smelling that someone else has entered his room. Since his sister has been dabbling in medical ninjutsu, he takes no mind in assuming that she is there.

"Thank you, Hana," he sighs. A tear leaks out from his left eye.

"Oh dear, you think I'm your sister," a man laughs. "It's time we talk, Kiba Inuzuka."

His voice is unmistakeable. Kiba is paralyzed with fear as he recognizes the voice of one of his opponents in the war. Kiba tries to turn his head to see the face of his attacker, but is too scared to move. He takes a deep sniff of the air, smelling reptiles. The man laughs as he watches Kiba's reaction.

"K-Kabuto Yakushi," Kiba trembles.

"Ah, I'm so glad you remember me, Kiba," he says. "After all, you fought so many of my reanimations."

Kiba, breaking out of his trance, swings his arm out to attack Kabuto. Kabuto simply ducks out of the way, and catching Kiba's fist as he goes for another punch.

"Now now, Kiba, I'm not here to fight you," Kabuto defends. "I only came to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about," Kiba growls, his fingernails elongating into claws. "Lady Tsunade will be happy to know you've been taken into custody."

"Ah yes, I'm sure your Hokage would be thrilled," Kabuto chides. "But she can't help you. Not the way I can."

Kiba drops his fist, mystified by the man. Kabuto, clad in a blood red robe, drops his hood. His silver hair reflects the moonlight, his glasses catching a glare and hiding his eyes. As Kabuto repositions his head, the gleam vanishes, revealing his golden slits. His white skin is scaled and slightly glowing as the moonlight bounces off him.

"What do you mean?" Kiba asks. He doesn't take his eyes off the snake man, as to avoid a surprise attack.

"Just look at your wrist, Kiba," Kabuto offers. Kiba turns his hand up, seeing that all three of his wounds have healed. Not without cost, though, because the hasty healing has made three scars on his wrist. The middle one is more pronounced than the others, being darker and slightly wider. It pains Kiba to even look at them, despite how they helped in the moment. Now, he feels only regret.

"It was horrible, wasn't it?" Kabuto asks. "Seeing Naruto and Sasuke so intimate with each other. Don't you just wish it were you kissing him, were you lying beside Naruto in that bed? He is an exquisite creature. Any man would be lucky to have him. But Sasuke always _has _been a lucky one, hasn't he?"

"H-how do you know about that?"

"Don't underestimate me, Kiba," Kabuto says, smiling. "I know that you're crushing on Naruto bigtime. Don't try to hide it, I'm not gonna announce it to the village."

Kiba is dumbfounded by Kabuto. All of these things are his most guarded secrets, his darkest memories. Kabuto is throwing them around like play things.

"I think we can help each other out," Kabuto says darkly.

"W-what do you mean?" Kiba chokes out.

"It's simple," Kabuto says, turning his back to Kiba. "I'll help you get Naruto to fall in love with you."

"And what do you get in return?" Kiba asks suspiciously. Kiba's no fool, he knows that Kabuto wouldn't do anything unless he gets something out of it as well.

"I get to see Sasuke weep as his lover is stripped away from him..." Kabuto growls, smiling devilishly.

"Why would you want that?"

"Call it a personal vendetta for not sticking with Madara and I after the war ended," Kabuto says. "The Uchiha needs to learn a little lesson in loyalty. To teach him this lesson, I'll personally make sure that his lover will not be loyal to him. And you get to have the man all to yourself."

"What if I say no?"

"I can't believe you haven't jumped at the opportunity already," Kabuto laughs. "Seeing the man you hate in pain, taking your crush for yourself, you'd think you'd be drooling like a hungry puppy at this point. Ah, but no matter. I have one more trick up my sleeve to convince you."

"A trick?" Kiba gasps. Kiba is sweating heavily now, Kabuto's every word surprising him. Kabuto, _the _Kabuto Yakushi, is offering to help him get together with Naruto. The plan is truly brilliant, no doubt, but Kiba is still suspicious. With his criminal past, what with being Sasori's spy, Orochimaru's right-hand man, and then an ally to the Akatuski, his hands are far from clean. But if what he says is true, Naruto could truly be his.

"What kind of trick?" Kiba asks flatly.

Kabuto pushes his glasses against his face, smiling. "If you choose to reject my offer, I will bear no ill will towards you. I won't harm you or your friends, and I'll leave the village to find some other way to punish Sasuke. But that would leave you with no rewards, so I'm tempted to believe you will accept." Kabuto grins. "And now, if you accept: You remember that my specialty was Reanimation ninjutsu, reviving the dead to use as tools in the war. Reviving the dead is such a fun thing for me. If they've been dead for a while, it can get tricky, though. But for the _recently _deceased, it's almost **too** easy to bring them back to life."

Kiba raises one eyebrow, confused at Kabuto's words. Of course Kiba knows about the Reanimation jutsu, he fought the revivals himself. What does this have to do with Kabuto's deal?

"I'm not following," Kiba admits.

Kabuto smiles deviously, repositioning his glasses once again. "I believe you called him...Akamaru. Your faithful companion, your ninja hound. It was Akamaru, wasn't it?"

Kiba shuddered, falling back onto his bed in disbelief. He finally put the pieces together. Not only could Kabuto help win over Naruto, but he could bring Akamaru back to life? This is...unbelievable!

"You...you could really do that?" Kiba asks in amazement.

"Normally I only revive the souls of humans, but with a slight adjustment, I could use it for a dog," Kabuto explains. "Do we have an accord?"

Kabuto extends his arm for a handshake, his scaly hand only inches away from Kiba. Kiba hesitates, seeming in no way inclined to accept the snake's offer. In fact, Kiba turns his head in rejection.

"So eager to reject me, Kiba?" Kabuto asks. "Look at those scars again. You cut yourself in agony, in frustration. Those cuts, representing the loss of your crush, the loss of your dog, and the loss of your crush's innocence. I healed them, Kiba. I can heal the pain of all those things. All you need to do is give me a chance."

Trembling with a hurricane of emotions: fear, excitement, love...he takes Kabuto's hand. As the two of them tighten their grips, Kabuto smiles.

"Excellent," Kabuto says, retracting his hand. "Now, we shouldn't waste any time."

"I've heard that love between to men escalates quickly," Kiba interjects.

"You have?" Kabuto asks, raising an eyebrow. "Have you talked to someone about this before?"

"My sensei, Kurenai."

"A woman, huh?" Kabuto asks. "Let me guess. She said that you need to be quick and take Naruto from him before they get too serious? To pronounce your love so that Naruto will choose you over Sasuke?"

Kiba nods, amazed that Kabuto was able to dissect the situation so quickly. "That's...exactly what she said."

Kabuto rests his chin in one hand, deep in thought. "No, that won't work at all. We need Naruto to be hurt so badly, and to hurt Sasuke so badly, that there is no chance of them ever getting back together again."

"So what, I wait for them to get serious and hope it goes well?" Kiba asks sarcastically. Kiba can't help but wonder at why he's so comfortable around one of the world's most dangerous criminals.

"In a sense, but I'll speed along the process," Kabuto says deviously. "When you fall in love with someone who is in another relationship, your only chance is to hope that your crush's significant other hurts them somehow. I take this in five steps."

"Steps?" Kiba asks, intrigued. "You have a method? You're sounding like a real ladies-man, Kabuto."

Kabuto smiles. "I may not look it now, but I was once a handsome man. I've had my fair share of girlfriends, mind you."

Kiba smiles, shaking that image from his mind. "So, what are these steps?"

"Step one is the heartbreak of your crush," Kabuto explains. "When Sasuke breaks Naruto's heart, you need to be there for him. Comfort him, give him a hug, try to take his mind off Sasuke. When Naruto feels close to you, feels that you've helped him through a hard time, he'll open up to you."

"Makes sense, so what's step two?"

"Don't be impatient, Kiba, there's more to step one. A single heartbreak shouldn't be enough for Naruto to dump Sasuke on the spot, no matter how easy that would be," Kabuto says. "If Naruto _does _talk about breaking up with him during step one, though, talk him out of it. Say that Sasuke had a moment of weakness, but that he shouldn't be abandoned."

"What? Why would I do that?" Kiba asks rather loudly.

"We need to make sure that they're crushed when they finally break it off," Kabuto says, clenching his fist. "During step two, simply watch as their relationship continues. Keep a close eye on how things progress. Often times, it will go back to just how it was when the relationship first started. But, inevitably, it will all come crashing down again."

"What do I do then?"

"Be Naruto's person to vent to," Kabuto says. "This part is dreadful, believe me, because Naruto will bitch about everything under the sun. The way Sasuke acts, his daily habits, their sex..."

"Don't even wanna think about that."

"The point is, you need to be there for Naruto to blow off some steam. He'll be comfortable with you, and know that you care about Naruto's happiness. This is _crucial _for step three."

"Which is...?" Kiba asks impatiently. Kiba is actually rather impressed how much about this stuff Kabuto knows. He doesn't know if it's because he's an evil genius or that he's actually had some relationship experience, but he doesn't care.

"Their relationship is gonna hit another rough patch," Kabuto says. "And if step two went smoothly, Naruto will come crying to you. You'll comfort him, hug him when he cries. Naruto seems to be a bit of a crier, so definitely be ready for the waterworks. Then, when he's vulnerable, you need to show him that you care about Naruto as more than just a friend."

"How do I do that?"

"There's a few different ways you could do it," Kabuto shrugs. "Most often, I see a small kiss. It doesn't even have to be on the lips. Just a peck on the cheek, something nice and innocent. Naruto will get that you're into him, but he'll feel guilty about being so close to you when he's with Sasuke. Just comfort Naruto until step four."

"Naruto is gonna be unsure of his relationship with Sasuke, having thoughts about me implanted in his head," Kiba interrupts. Kabuto watches him, eyes wide. He almost looks impressed.

"That's...exactly right. He'll regret getting so close to you that night, but he'll also regret on being so close to Sasuke now that he knows you care about him. Now, Sasuke is gonna come into play a little bit more. He'll be worried about Naruto, and ask him what's wrong. But Naruto won't wanna admit what happened with you, so he'll shrug it off and say it's nothing. But Sasuke won't be convinced."

"So now both of them have doubts about their relationship, slowly driving them apart!"

"Exactly right, Kiba," Kabuto says triumphantly. "At the end of step four, we have to be extra careful. This is where everything will come to a climax. Naruto and Sasuke will start fighting a lot more. They won't be big, climactic fights, but they'll start bickering about the small stuff. They'll be so agitated with each other, that with just one last push in the wrong direction, and they'll be ready to break it off. Just keep your distance, let them duke it out. Be there to comfort Naruto, but don't try so hard. You won't be happy when you see him like that, but Naruto needs to be really hurt when the final step comes around."

"So then what?"

"We move on to the final step. With a little help from yours truly, I'll provide the right circumstances for an especially juicy fight," Kabuto says, a wicked smile on his lips. "It doesn't matter who breaks up with who, but it'll happen. Then, Naruto will run to you to be his cushion. And you'll do a great job of it. You'll hold him tight, maybe another peck on the cheek if the mood's right. You'll kind of repeat step three, just comfort him and make it hurt less. This might even happen more than once, and it's _essential _that you don't get too, er...physically involved. No passionate kissing, and **definitely **no sleeping with him. Just an occasional peck, because Naruto is probably gonna be a bit fragile from breaking up with Sasuke. He might even ask for you to wait until he's over Sasuke. This usually only takes a couple weeks, so just wait it out."

"Then what?" Kiba asks, scooting closer to the snake. He feels like a kid watching a movie, always wondering what's gonna happen next.

"Naruto will come crawling back to you. Then, things will progress like a normal relationship. You'll hold hands, you'll kiss, and do all the crap lovey-dovey pairs like to do with each other. Sex is up to you, it really doesn't matter at this point."

"That seems like way too easy an ending..." Kiba mutters.

"Because that isn't the end. One way or another, Sasuke is gonna find out about you two. And since it's Sasuke, he might even attack you. Try to show Naruto that he's better for him than you are. Show him that he's stronger than you are."

"Sasuke is stronger than me..."

"Ah, we can work on that," Kabuto shrugs. "Whether you fight Sasuke alone, or whether Naruto helps you out, it doesn't really make a difference. Even if you lose the fight, Sasuke won't kill you. He's worked awfully hard to get back into the village at this point, so don't fear for your life. But Naruto will see past Sasuke's brutish attempts, and see that he's not the kind of man he wants in his life. Then he'll see you, who's always been there for him, who loved him in a way the cold-hearted Sasuke never did. He'll melt in your hands."

"That's...incredible, Kabuto," Kiba mutters. "And this really works?"

"Every time," he says triumphantly, lying back on Kiba's bed, relaxed. "I've never tried it out on a gay couple, but I can't see it being any different. After that, Naruto's all yours, I'll revive your dog, and Sasuke is left to wallow in his misery. Everybody wins." Kabuto looks up at the ceiling, smiling. "That's one I've never tried before. Everybody wins. Except Sasuke, of course. He'll be so many ways of depressed he might even try to kill himself."

Kiba winces, now unsure of Kabuto's plan. Seeing his discomfort, Kabuto only laughs. "Relax, I was only kidding about that last part."

"When should we start all of this?" Kiba asks.

"Not yet. Let the two of them enjoy their relationship for a little while. Make sure they're nice and happy when everything starts to fall out from under them. Give it a week, then we'll talk again."

Kiba yawns, his eyes closing as he stretches his arms high above his head. When he looks back down to Kabuto, all that remains is a slight outline of where Kabuto was lying. Even Kabuto's scent has vanished entirely.

* * *

**Since I'm a HUGE fan of Kabuto as a character, I just had to put him in somewhere lol. When this idea presented itself, I jumped on it seeing as I can use his five steps as a guide to my writing. It's gonna take a lot of heartbreak, but Kiba and Naruto will get together eventually! Please leave a review so I can improve my writing (seriously, I enjoy reviews xD) and thanks for reading!**


	6. 6: Of Shattered Hearts

**I'm really disappointed that I haven't gotten more reviews. This story has gotten a lot of views, but not too many reviews... please review, I really enjoy them! Anyway, this chapter is kind of both from Naruto's and Kiba's POV. Enjoy!**

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Naruto awakes with a start. He looks to his left, seeing an unconscious Sasuke lying naked beside him. Naruto smiles faintly before standing.

A little too late he realizes that he's in a _lot _of pain. His backside is absolutely screaming in agony. Naruto turns around to get a look, seeing that his ass is covered in bruises of different colors. The skin around his hole is extra painful.

Naruto tries to stand again, failing miserably. Putting even the slightest amount of pressure on his legs is making him want to burst into tears. Naruto focuses his chakra, trying to make a connection to the Kyuubi.

"Hey, mind giving me some help?"Naruto thinks. "**Really **painful down there, could use some chakra."

"**Hm? Oh yeah, sure thing,**" the bijuu says calmly. "**A** **bit of advice for next time, Naruto. Don't let him do whatever he wants with you. If you have to be his uke, at least let him know you're not just a sex doll.**"

Naruto breathes a sigh of relief as the Kyuubi's chakra engulfs him. The bruises on him don't vanish completely, but they do fade slightly and hurt a lot less.

"**Your body is gonna have to do the rest naturally,**" Kyuubi says. "**Unless you wanna walk around with red eyes all day.**"

"It's fine, thanks for your help_,_" Naruto says. Kyuubi nods before returning to his slumber.

"Naruto...?" Sasuke asks. Naruto hadn't even heard him wake up, but Sasuke's eyes are wide with concern. "Who are you talking to?"

"Oh, it's, um..." Naruto hesitates. "I was asking the Nine-Tails to help heal my bruises."

"Didn't realize you two had a good relationship," Sasuke jokes. "So he can really heal you?"

Naruto nods. "It's actually working pretty well. Here, look."

Naruto turns (through a great deal of pain) to show Sasuke his bruises. The previously discolored bruises are all a light shade of brown now, and while still painful, they hurt a lot less now.

"Damn, that's healed?" Sasuke asks. Naruto smiles, knowing that Sasuke cares that he hurt him. "I really did a good job on you, didn't I?" Never mind that.

"Yeah, it was wonderful," Naruto says sarcastically. Sasuke doesn't seem to notice. "I'm gonna get a shower."

Naruto stands with great effort, Sasuke making no attempt to help him, and walks to his bathroom. Sasuke's mind begins to wander, thinking about perhaps joining his lover in the shower for some more fun. After a minute of pondering the idea, Sasuke smiles wickedly before stepping into the bathroom.

"Hey Naruto..." Sasuke teases. "Ready for round two?"

Naruto, just now turning on the water in the shower, backs against the wall in fear. He's still in pain from last night, and now Sasuke wants to go again?

"No, Sasuke," he says sternly. "Last night...I'm still in so much pain from it. Please, I need a break..."

"Naruto, don't be a baby," Sasuke teases, trying to take Naruto's lips in a kiss. Naruto pushes him away.

"Sasuke, I said no!" he whines. The water is almost boiling hot now, but neither of them are inclined to step into the water.

Sasuke steps forward for another kiss. Naruto pushes Sasuke away again, running out of the bathroom at great effort. He grabs the closest set of clothes he can find, and throwing them on haphazardly before running out the door.

When Naruto hears footsteps behind him, he draws on the Kyuubi's chakra to go into his Jinchuuriki form. His body glowing with golden chakra, he teleports from rooftop to rooftop so quickly that even Sasuke can't follow, and disappears from sight.

"Dammit, Naruto!" Sasuke curses into the air. "All I wanted was to be close to you and you do this?"

Naruto stops his teleportations in the middle of town, surprising more than a few villagers as he falls to the ground painfully. Some of them, somehow still uneasy about his being a Jinchuuriki after everything he's done, back away from him. Most just watch him, concerned.

"Naruto, what happened to you?" someone asks. Naruto looks up from the ground, seeing Shino running at him, his face as blank as ever.

"Hey, Shino..." he groans, struggling to sit up. "Overdid my teleporting...really...tired..."

As Naruto loses consciousness, Shino catches him before he can fall. Shino throws him on his back, wondering just why Naruto was so eager to be teleporting all over the village for no apparent reason. He starts carrying Naruto to the hospital, just to be safe.

On the way to the hospital, Shino sees his teammate Kiba walking down the street towards the Gates. Kiba smiles as he sees his friend, but his smile fades quickly as he sees Shino's baggage.

"N-Naruto?" Kiba asks in fear. He runs over to Naruto, checking his breathing and stuff to make sure he's alright. He turns to Shino abruptly. "What happened?"

"Dunno, he was teleporting all over the village in his Jinchuuriki form when he collapsed," Shino explains. "I'm taking him to the hospital, just to be safe."

Kiba nods, helping Shino readjust and throw one of the blond's arms over each of their shoulders. The two of them carry/drag Naruto to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Naruto is having a conversation of his own in his mind. The Kyuubi, no longer kept in his cage, sits comfortably in the shallow water.

"**The way Sasuke treated you is unacceptable behavior towards my Jinchuuriki,**" the beast says coldly. "**Naruto, you can't just let him walk all over you like that.**"

"I know I shouldn't, but I really care about Sasuke," Naruto says, his eyes never leave the ground.

"**The most important thing in a relationship is that both partners care about the other's happiness,**" Kyuubi says wisely. "**I have been alive for thousands of years, I know what I'm talking about. It's obvious that you care about Sasuke, but can you really say that he cares about you? Look how he tried to force himself on you just this morning.**"

"You're saying...I shouldn't be with Sasuke?"

"**That decision is yours entirely to make, Naruto,**" he says. "**But if you're asking for my opinion, I think you could do better. A lot better, truly.**"

Naruto, thoroughly pissed at his inner demon, leaves his demon and returns to his body. When he awakens, he's lying in a crisp white hospital room. The bed beneath him is totally white, and only one other person is in the room with him. Kiba Inuzuka.

"Kiba..." Naruto mumbles. Kiba jumps up, happy to see his crush is awake. "What are you doing here?"

"Shino found you on the edge of passing out, and tried taking you to the hospital. I helped him out, but he had a mission so I figured I'd be here when you woke up," Kiba explains, his face filled with concern. "How do you feel?"

In truth, Naruto doesn't really wanna talk about how he feels. Excluding his emotional pain about Sasuke, his stomach is killing him from overusing his chakra, and the pain in his ass hasn't really subsided either.

"I'm fine, just tired," he lies, putting on a fake smile. "Quick energy boost from Kyuubi and I'll be good for hours."

Kiba winces. "It's so weird how you talk about the Kyuubi so openly..." Kiba admits. "Aren't you...you know, afraid of him?"

Naruto's smile drops. "Well, I guess when you share a body with him for eighteen years, you kind of get used to each other. For me, it's as normal as you talking about Aka—" he stops himself. Kiba drops his gaze to the floor, tears brimming in his eyes as the memories return to him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up."

"It's fine," Kiba lies. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday at the gate."

Naruto tenses up. Thoughts of Kiba had pretty much ruined his date with Sasuke, not that the date had much of a happy ending. Now, Naruto guesses it's time they talked it out.

"I'm really sorry I kind of flipped out on you," Kiba says, blushing. "It's just...I was suspicious of Sasuke coming back to the village so suddenly. The way he's hurt you in the past...I didn't want to see that happen again. You're one of my best friends, and I don't want you hurt."

Naruto listens to Kiba closely, eyes fixated on the brunette. The Nine-Tails speaks up in his mind.

"**That's more like it. Maybe you should find out if he's gay,**" Kyuubi teases. Naruto really wishes he could punch chakra, but instead ignores him.

"I forgive you, Kiba," Naruto says. "And I'm really sorry I said those things about Akamaru yesterday. I shouldn't have done that, it was wrong. It wasn't your fault Akamaru was killed, you were only trying to protect me. Then I threw it back in your face, and I shouldn't have."

Kiba smiles, tears either of joy or from thinking about Akamaru still sitting on the brims of his eyes. "So, why were you teleporting all over the village like that?"

"Training," Naruto lies.

"Bull crap," Kiba laughs. "Your teleportations have never worn you out that much before. You must have been breathing heavily, trying to get away from something. I could smell the sweat and fear all over you when I picked you up."

Naruto watches Kiba, impressed. That's pretty much exactly right, and Kiba has no idea of his night with Sasuke. So he thinks, anyway.

"I kind of, er..._spent the night _with Sasuke, if you know what I mean," Naruto says. Kiba winces, holding his left wrist in one hand right where his scars are. Naruto doesn't understand the gesture, but continues anyway. "When I woke up, I was still in a lot of pain from...well, you know. And Sasuke wanted to go again."

"He did?" Kiba asks, feeling possessive of his crush.

"Yeah. When I told him no, he..." Naruto asks, tears beginning to stream down past his whiskers. "He actually tried to force himself on me."

Kiba's eyes widen in shock as Naruto begins to cry. Kiba, previously sitting on the other side of the room, scoots his chair right beside Naruto's bed. He gives Naruto a hug, letting the blond cry into the shoulder of his jacket. His sobs shake their bodies, making Kiba almost want to cry. Kabuto was right about one thing, seeing Naruto like this is extremely difficult. He hasn't seen Naruto cry in ages, and it's never something he wants to witness. Kiba rubs Naruto's back in circular motions, trying to calm his sobs.

"Kiba, what should I do?" Naruto cries. "I care about Sasuke, I really do, but the way he acts towards me...I don't know if I want to be with someone like that."

Kiba hesitates, remembering step one of Kabuto's plan. He may be able to get Naruto now if he wanted, but if he wants Akamaru back he'll have to go with Kabuto. So, he gathers up his courage before responding.

"I think Sasuke just had a weird night," Kiba admits. Naruto pulls away, tear filled eyes fixated on the brunette. "He came back to the village, got attacked, and then you and he got together. I think he kind of just got caught up in the moment and wanted to be close to you."

"Y-you really think so?" Naruto asks, another tear escaping his eye. Kiba brushes away the tear, and is surprised as he discovers the whiskers on Naruto's face are actually made up of tiny hairs and not just lines on his face.

Kiba wants to yell out _NO, _but restrains himself as he remembers the plan. Step one is already in action. "I do. Just give him today to cool off, and you need to cool off too. Some light training or something. After you get out of the hospital, of course."

Naruto smiles as he taps into the Kyuubi's chakra. His body glows a faint red, making Kiba back away. His whiskers are exaggerated slightly, Naruto's hair getting somehow spikier.

Naruto now full of energy, he leaps out of bed and hugs Kiba tightly. As he and the brunette lock eyes, Kiba is shocked to see red eyes smiling back at him. Normally, when he sees those eyes, they're cold and heartless. Now they're a different color, but still has the softness of Naruto's eyes. Kiba smiles as Naruto runs out of the room.

He breaks into a run as he leaves the hospital, making a beeline for the Hokage's palace. Now that he's finally a Chunin, he should be allowed to take on some solo missions. Naruto really could have managed missions like this when he was a Genin, but regulations and stuff kept that from happening. And Naruto leaving the village is a perfect way for him and Sasuke to cool off.

Naruto knocks on the door to Granny Tsunade's room. "Come in," she answers. Naruto opens the door and steps into the office. Behind the desk sits Tsunade. She's facing out the window, but Naruto can see her gold hair just above the top of the chair. She smiles as she spins her chair around, but the smile quickly fades.

"Naruto, why are your eyes red?" she asks quickly. Naruto scolds himself for forgetting that, but if he stops using the Nine-Tails' chakra now he'll lose all of that energy he'll need for a mission.

"I was training this morning and got exhausted, but I still wanted a mission so I tapped into some of Kyuubi's chakra to give me an extra boost."

"Naruto, you shouldn't push yourself like this," the Hokage scolds. "If you're too tired for a mission, then just go home and rest."

"Come on, isn't there something I could do solo?" Naruto whines.

Tsunade sighs, flipping through a clipboard sitting on her desk. "Got some bandit sightings a few miles away from the village. Wanna take them out for me?"

"Sure, no sweat," Naruto shrugs. He steps out of the office, about to close the door behind him when Tsunade calls out.

"Wait, I almost forgot. I need to talk to you about something, Naruto," Tsunade says. Naruto raises an eyebrow before stepping back into the room. "Close the door."

Naruto obeys. "What's up?"

"It's about Sasuke," Tsunade says darkly. She opens one of her desk's drawers, pulling out the letter Sasuke showed to Kiba yesterday. Naruto steps forward, reading the letter for himself. He smiles at the words.

"What about it?"

"Why is it that for three years he couldn't give a rat's ass about you, and then suddenly all he cares about is you?" Tsunade asks suspiciously. "Something doesn't seem right."

Naruto hesitates before speaking again, nervous of what's about to be said. "Granny Tsunade, can I be really honest with you?"

"I wouldn't prefer it any other way."

"Um...Sasuke and I, we...uh..." he struggles. The boy finds it difficult to say this to the Hokage, but eventually he just takes a deep breath and says it upright. "Sasuke and I are a couple."

Tsunade leans forward, jaw dropped. "By a couple you mean, like a romantic couple?" Naruto nods. "Wow...I did _not _see that coming. Neither you or Sasuke really seem like the type..."

"Type?" Naruto asks coldly.

"No, that's not what I meant!" Tsunade corrects. "I'm not homophobic, I just never would have guessed that you two would be gay."

Naruto drops his gaze to the floor. "I've never been in a romantic relationship before him, but I know that Sasuke and I really care about each other."

Tsunade's expression remains cold. "I just don't want to see you get hurt, Naruto. I just got a weird feeling about him coming back." The two are silent for a long time. "It's probably just me being paranoid. Now, run along. Those bandits aren't gonna kill themselves."

Naruto doesn't meet Tsunade's gaze as he exits the room. Who does she think she is, accusing Sasuke of treachery? After the letter and Naruto admitting that they're together, she still doesn't trust him? The nerve.

It only takes Naruto about an hour to get to the location of the bandit sightings, and only a moment to dispatch all ten of them when they appeared. The guys were total push-overs, so he disposes of them before walking back to the village. When Naruto finally gets back, the sun is starting to set.

Naruto wonders if he should go back to his apartment tonight. Kiba suggested that he give Sasuke today to calm down, but he didn't really specify if he should go back tonight. To be honest, Naruto is afraid of going back to his apartment so soon after what happened. If Sasuke gets frisky again, Naruto doesn't want to be nearby.

Naruto gives in and walks to the Inuzuka estate. Since Kiba was nice enough to give him romantic advice, he really hopes he'll give him a place to stay for the night.

Naruto has never stayed at Kiba's house before, but he knows that the Inuzuka's are the most respected clan in the village, with the exception of the Hyugas and once the Uchihas. As he approaches the estate, he takes a shaky breath as he steps onto their land.

Kurumaru, Tsume's prized hound, perks up as Naruto takes his first step onto their land. Tsume see's Kurmaru, confused.

"What's up?" she asks the dog.

"Someone has stepped onto our land, someone I don't recognize," Kurumaru says suspiciously. "He smells like fox."

"A fox?"

"Mixed with human smell," he says. "I hear shoes on the sidewalk."

"So some dude that smells like a fox is coming up to our house," Tsume says flatly. "This should be interesting."

Not ten seconds later, Tsume hears a knocking on her front door. She opens it, sighing as she realized how obvious it should have been to figure out who it was. Who else would smell like a fox?

"Oh, hello Naruto," she greets. "Do you need to talk to Kiba?"

"Yes, thank you," Naruto says.

"HEY KIBA, GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!" Tsume roars. Naruto's red eyes are wide as he hears just how intimidating Tsume can be. Tsume sees his eyes, curious.

"There a reason your eyes are red, fox boy?" she asks, smiling. Scary, and has a sweet side? What an odd person.

"Oh, I was tired after training earlier so borrowed some chakra for a little energy boost," Naruto shrugs. "I guess being a Jinchuuriki can have perks."

Kiba runs down the stairs of his house, seeing Naruto standing in the doorway talking to his mother. His heart leaps up into his throat at the sight of his crush, but swallows it back down before speaking.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" he asks.

Tsume sighs. "Honestly, Kiba. Sometimes you're more like a dog than a person. Have some manners!"

Kiba and Naruto lock gazes, smiling mischievously. Kiba takes up a British accent. "I dare say good chap, would you like to enter my dwelling for a spot of tea?"

Tsume rolls her eyes, expecting Naruto to be the bigger person here. She realizes what a foolish thought that was as Naruto matches Kiba's British accent with his own.

"I dare say that sounds like a fine idea, Sir Kiba!" he says. The two boys laugh loudly. Tsume rolls her eyes, smiling as she leaves the boys to their foolishness.

"So what's up, Naruto?" Kiba asks, leaning against the doorway. "You smooth things out with Sasuke?"

"That's actually what I'm here to talk to you about," Naruto says sheepishly. Kiba blushes as he thinks of all the different things Naruto could be leading up to with that sentence. Most of them are not things he would want to here.

_We decided to get married on a hilltop next week under the stars! Will you be my best man?_

_The two of us are moving to Suna together, isn't that great?_

_Your sister knows some medical jutsu, right? Can she heal my ass?_

"I'm afraid to be at my apartment in case Sasuke gets...like that again," Naruto says, blushing furiously from embarrassment. "Could I...stay here just for tonight?"

"Oh," Kiba says quickly. "Hey Mom, can Naruto stay here tonight?"

"If you don't mind sharing a bed!" she calls back. "The dogs have pretty much taken over the guest room!"

Kiba blushes, turning back to Naruto expecting a laugh or for Naruto to simply leave. Instead, he just shrugs. "I'm alright with it, as long as you're comfortable sharing a bed with a gay guy."

Kiba fakes a laugh, wondering if Naruto has any idea that the both of them are gay. "Sure, come on in."

Naruto slips off his sandals as he enters the house. Kurumaru watches the two boys closely as they walk up the stairs. The dog noticed a strange scent emanating from Kiba but can't quite place it. He shrugs it off before returning to his nap.

Once in his room, Kiba shuts the door behind him. Naruto walks across the room, examining every inch. It has an attached bathroom, a king size bed, and a plasma TV hung on the wall. A set of barbells sit in the corner, as well as a jump rope.

"Okay, this place is bigger than my apartment," Naruto laughs. Kiba laughs, expecting Naruto to say that he's kidding, but gets none. His room is rather large, but it can't be bigger than Naruto's apartment. Naruto gestures to the work-out equipment in the corner. "You work out in here?"

"We have a work-out room on the estate for our clan, but when I'm too lazy to go there I just work out here," the brunette explains.

"When you're too lazy to work out?" Naruto asks. "The irony is thick, isn't it?"

Kiba laughs before the two of them lay down on Naruto's bed. The boys rest their feet on the pillows, their heads at the foot of the bed as they watch a movie on Kiba's TV.

"So do you think that you and Sasuke are gonna be alright?" Kiba asks curiously.

"I really don't know," Naruto admits sadly. "I hope so, but I can't be sure until I talk to him myself."

"Nervous?"

"Very," Naruto admits shakily. "I hope he doesn't leave me for running out on him this morning. That would be terrible."

Kiba drops his gaze, guilty. He thinks through Kabuto's five-step process again, remembering how much heartbreak Naruto is gonna have to go through before he can truly be his. He almost wants to back out on Kabuto's plan, but then he wouldn't get Akamaru back.

"I'm really sorry about Akamaru, Kiba," Naruto says, voice shaking. "I know that's the worst kind of pain imaginable. You must feel as bad as I did when Jiraiya-sensei was killed."

Kiba nods sadly. Naruto sighs before flipping around, placing his head on one of Kiba's pillows. Kiba rolls his eyes, laughing slightly before he lies back as well. Naruto closes his eyes, facing away from the tattooed boy. He doesn't mean to invade his privacy, but Kiba can't help but smile as he watches Naruto sleep. Kiba admits that he's cute when he sleeps, he'd noticed it in the hospital as well. He tends to hold his breath for a really long time, then letting it all out in one big sigh. Kiba giggles slightly as Naruto does it for the third time, signaling that he's deep in his dreams now.

Kiba closes his eyes for some sleep of his own, but is interrupted by the smell of reptiles outside his window. He looks, confirming his suspicions. He creeps over to the window, opening it silently.

"Kabuto, what are you doing here?" Kiba whispers. Kabuto presses a single finger over his lips before gesturing for Kiba to follow. Hesitantly, Kiba follows Kabuto into the woods.

"Care to explain to me why Naruto is in your bed?" Kabuto asks.

Kiba explains everything that happened since Naruto arrived at the Inuzuka estate. Kabuto grows angry, almost punching a tree in frustration.

"Kiba, this was _not _the plan!" Kabuto whines. "Naruto should be back at his apartment with Sasuke right now. He's just sitting there wondering where Naruto is."

"Look, I don't think step two is gonna be necessary," Kiba says.

"Step two is one of the most important steps!" Kabuto corrects. "It's what brings you and Naruto closer together as friends so that Naruto comes straight to you when he's hurt! Today you got lucky and ran into him after Sasuke hurt him. Frankly, I'm amazed that Sasuke managed to screw up so quickly. He really did learn everything he knows about sex from Jugo."

"Who?"

"Long story, _**very **_long story. Sasuke had some bruises very similar to Naruto's, we'll just leave it at that," Kabuto says. Kiba shakes any such images from his mind. "In any case, Naruto isn't ready yet. He needs to complain to you, and know that you're willing to listen to his problems when step three comes around. _That's _when you should kiss him."

Kiba grows frustrated, stomping his foot on the ground like a spoiled child. "But he went through so much today, I can't stand to see him like I saw him back at the hospital! He was crying, I mean _really _crying. It hurt just to look at him."

Kabuto sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers.. "Look, I know it's hard, but you just have to pull through."

"No, Kabuto, I won't," Kiba snaps, turning away from him. "What would Naruto think if he knew I was even talking to you?"

"He won't find out," Kabuto comforts, laying a scaly hand on Kiba's shoulder. "Just trust me on this, Kiba. Just leave him be, let him sleep tonight. Tomorrow he'll go back and smooth things out with Sasuke. Then I'll provide some circumstances for Naruto to grow frustrated with Sasuke, and it'll start. I'd give it three days, maybe four before step three begins. Two doesn't take very long."

There's a long silence between them. Kiba tries to get his anger under control as the crickets fill the air with noise. The stars above them are almost completely hidden by the clouds. A sudden gust of wind throws Kabuto's hood off his head.

"Oh, I almost forgot why I even came here tonight," Kabuto says. "I want to take you somewhere, Kiba."

"Take me somewhere?" Kiba asks, slightly fearfully. "Where?"

"My laboratory. I have a present for you," he says.

"What's this about?"

"It's about your possible fight with Sasuke, we can't have you unprepared if Sasuke decides to strike sooner than expected."

Kiba nods, a serious look on his face. "Alright, take me there."

"Oh, we won't need to do any walking," Kabuto says. "Just stand still."

A huge white snake that could swallow Kurumaru whole emerges from beneath Kabuto's cloak. The snake slithers around Kiba's feet in a perfect circle, the snake seeming never-ending as it climbs up around Kiba's body. It's scales brush up against Kiba, making him hold his breath. With an Inuzuka nose, a snake in this close proximity isn't the most pleasant thing on Earth. When the snake is just crawling past his face, Kabuto speaks up, though his words are barely audible.

"Reverse Summoning jutsu!" he says. Smoke fills Kiba's lungs as he's warped away. When his coughing subsides, the snake surrounding him slithers back into Kabuto's cloak. Kiba looks around him, amazed by the sudden change of scenery.

Before they stood between tall oak trees, their ears filled with the sounds of crickets and rustling leaves. Now, the room around them is completely silent. Various empty beakers sit on the edge of a table. Scrolls and tags with various complex seals sit in a messy pile on the same table.

One thing catches Kiba's eye specifically. The only thing appearing organized is six syringes sitting on a wooden rack seemingly designed for those tools. Each syringe is filled with a different colored liquid. From left to right, the liquids are green, purple, red, light blue, orange, and black. Kabuto walks over to the syringes, picking up the green one.

"Every other night, I'll come to you in your room and take you back to my lab," Kabuto explains. "Each time, I'll inject you with each of these liquids. Each of these medicines will enhance your combat abilities exponentially."

"How exponentially?"

"Well, this first medicine enhances your physical strength," Kabuto explains. "Each of these is designed and measured specifically so that your body will be at equal strength as Naruto in his form, you just won't need a transformation."

"Is that really possible?"

"Anything is possible with science," Kabuto says triumphantly, walking closer with the green-filled syringe in hand. "This is gonna hurt like a bitch, but the results will be worth it." Kiba holds out his arm, shutting his eyes tight and waiting for the needle. "Umm...these don't go in your arm."

"What, do they go in my butt?"

Kabuto laughs. "No, they don't go in your butt, Kiba. They're all applied somewhere different, none of them in your arm though. This one goes straight into your spine."

Kiba hesitates. "Does it have to?"

"Yes, it has to," Kabuto says. "This one is dangerous to apply. I'll need to strap you down while the needle is in. Thrash around too much and it could damage you pretty badly."

Kiba's breathing picks up, nervous. The brunette follows Kabuto over to a table with leather straps dangling off the sides. He removes his shirt and lays down on his stomach. Kabuto secures the straps, positioned at his calves, waist, and shoulders.

"You ready, Kiba?" Kabuto asks.

"Are there any painkillers you can help me out with?"

"Painkillers interfere with the drug if they're applied too closely together," Kabuto explains. "You'd better hope you don't get hurt tomorrow. Painkillers will mess you up if you take any within twenty-four hours of application."

Kiba turns his head away from Kabuto, slightly trembling. "Just do it."

Kabuto nods, placing the needle at the center of Kiba's back. He slides in the tiny needle, just letting the tip of it breach Kiba's spine. Kiba screams in pain as the thick fluid is injected into his very spine. Tears streak down his clan markings as he wails. The syringe is only half emptied.

"Kabuto, please stop!" Kiba cries.

"I can't, if I stop now the drug will be wasted," Kabuto says. "Just a bit longer, hang in there!"

When the syringe is finally emptied, Kabuto pulls it out of Kiba as quickly as he can. Kiba lies there, tears drying as he pants. His body is covered in sweat.

"That was the most painful thing I've ever felt in my life..." Kiba says, shuddering. "Please tell me that's the worst of them."

"Yes, that's the worst one. The next one is injected at the base of your neck," Kabuto says. "Won't be a cakewalk, but it's not as bad as this one."

Kiba sighs with relief as Kabuto undoes his bindings. Kiba sits up on the table, Kabuto handing him his shirt.

"So, how do you feel?"

"Tired, but not really very different aside from that," says Kiba. "Are you sure it worked?"

"I suspected as much. It isn't an instant effect, over the next few days your strength will increase gradually. By the next time we talk, you should be benching two-hundred fifty pounds like it's nothing. Struggle with 300."

"That's insane."

"That'll be the max of your body's muscles normally," he explains. "Past that point, you'll have to start feeding chakra into your muscles to increase their power to their true limits. In a few days, with a bit of chakra control, you could be lifting six hundred pounds like paperweights."

"So, what do the others do?"

"I'll let it be a surprise, something to look forward to," Kabuto says. "Just look at me, giving and giving. I give you Naruto, I give you Akamaru, and I give you performance-enhancing drugs. I'm an awesome guy, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you're swell," Kiba laughs. "Can I go home now?"

Kabuto nods. His snake coils itself around Kiba once again. Kabuto performs a few hand signs, pressing his palm to the ground. "Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"

After another puff of smoke, the two men are standing back in the forest where they left. Kabuto performs the hand signs again, returning himself to his lab and leaving Kiba alone.

Kiba flexes his muscles a bit, throwing a few punches. He doesn't feel any different, doesn't feel like he suddenly has superhuman strength. Hoping for the best, Kiba returns to his house silently.

"Where have you been, Kiba?" Tsume asks as he steps onto the property, emitting a small yelp from her son. He'd been so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't even noticed her standing there.

"I had a headache, thought I'd get some fresh air," Kiba says.

"You must've went pretty far to get some fresh air," Tsume says coldly. "After a while your scent vanished completely."

"I went for a swim," he lies.

"You're completely dry," she counters.

"The run here dried me off again. I didn't just jump in with my clothes on, I stripped down to my underwear. God, Mom, I'm not stupid."

Tsume and her son glare into each other's eyes, two sets of slit pupils matching each other perfectly. Tsume sighs, walking back to her house.

"I don't know why you really went out there, but if it's really that important to you, I won't interfere."

"I just went out for some air," Kiba repeats. "I'll see you in the morning."

Kiba doesn't let her respond as he jumps back up to his open window. He closes it silently behind him, creeping back to his bed. He smiles when he sees Naruto still happily asleep. He crawls in bed next to him, his eyes barely able to stay open as he drifts off to sleep.

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**Alright, I hope you all liked my latest chapter :) sorry my upload times are weird, I have to write these late at night when my family won't barge in on me. They don't know I'm into Yaoi haha. As always, PLEASE leave a review so I can be a better writer, and thank you so much for reading! And remember, leave a review. I like those xD**


	7. 7: A Tempting Offer and a Family Torn

**Hey everybody, sorry this chapter took so long. I've been busy with some stuff with Band Camp and whatnot, but Chapter 7 is finally done and 8 is in the works. Enjoy!**

* * *

"**Come on, Naruto, it's just one little Genjutsu,**" the fox whines. Naruto has been listening to Kyuubi beg for hours within his own mind. It used to be a common occurrence for Naruto's dreams to be replaced with a late-night conversation with his demon, but that ended along with the war. This is the first time in over a month.

"I don't want to think about how it would be with him," Naruto whines.

"**But the Inuzuka boy is much better suited to be your partner!**" he complains. "**Come on, just give it a chance!**"

"No! Because even if I do let you go through with it, you'll make it look absolutely perfect, even though it wouldn't be!" Naruto yells. "Even if I ever _were _to consider it, which I will most certainly not, the illusion would be just that. An illusion, thought up by your twisted, perverted mind!"

Kyuubi sighs, resting his giant head on his front paws. "**I promise to make it realistic. Not absolutely perfect, with sunsets and shit, but show you what it truly **_**could **_**be.**"

Naruto sighs as well. "If I say yes, will you let me get some _peaceful _sleep?"

Kyuubi nods, placing the tip of a single claw on Naruto's chest. The scenery changes from a dingy room in Naruto's mind to the streets of Konoha.

"Kyuubi, why am I standing in front of Ichiraku Ramen?" Naruto asks, his voice giving off a faint echo. The fox has shrunken himself down to a smaller version of himself, his head a few inches lower than Naruto's.

"**Just watch, you will see,**" says the fox. Just then, someone steps out from the ramen stand. Naruto sees himself, only older, wearing the long red coat he wore during his fight with Pain. Under that is a green flak jacket. Looking up towards his adult self's face, he sees that the whiskers on his face are slightly more exaggerated than they are now. His eyes are blue, but the pupils are slit.

"Why is my face more fox-like?"

"**After so many years of being my host, you'll find your features begin to change to be more similar to my own,**" he says. "**Your whiskers will thicken, and your pupils will permanently slit. I don't think your eyes will permanently change color, but it isn't out of the question. Now, watch.**"

Stepping out just after adult Naruto is an older form of Kiba Inuzuka. Kiba is substantially taller than his current form, even passing Naruto up. One of his fangs are slipped over his lip as always, his pupils slit to match Naruto's. Even past his flak jacket, Naruto can tell that Kiba is a lot more muscular.

He slips his hand into Naruto's, planting an innocent kiss on his whiskered cheek. Naruto smiles widely, squeezing more tightly on his lover's hand before leading him down the street.

"**A pretty cute couple, are you not?**" the fox teases.

"I guess, but I don't see this ever happening," Naruto says. "And what gives with Kiba being buff?"

"**I can't deny that I may have spruced him up a bit,**" Kyuubi admits. Naruto frowns. "**Oh, just watch.**"

The scene shifts, showing Naruto and Kiba sitting together in Naruto's apartment. Kiba's arm is resting over Naruto's shoulders, the two of them sitting close together. A bowl of popcorn rests on Naruto's lap as they watch a movie together.

"We're watching a movie," Naruto says flatly. "What's the big deal?"

"**Notice how he has no desire to force you into bed?**" the fox asks. "**This is how it would be. Kiba wouldn't try to get in your pants all the time. It would be like a **_**real **_**relationship.**"

"In your mind. How do you know what Kiba's like in private?"

"**You'd be amazed how much you can tell about a person just by their mannerisms,**" Kyuubi says. "**How he wanted to be there when you woke up, how he brushed away your tears and held you while you cried. He cares about you, whether you like it or not.**"

"And just where do you get the idea that Kiba is gay?"

"**Just a feeling I got when I saw him in the hospital. I can't really explain it, he just seems like he was **_**really **_**emotional about you being in the hospital,**" the fox comments. "**Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm not. I'm just saying it's a real possibility. Now watch, this is the part you're gonna like.**"

The scene shifts again, showing Naruto and Kiba lying in bed. The two of them have shed their shirts, but lie in bed silently. Kiba's arm is wrapped tightly around Naruto's waist, nuzzling his head against the blond's neck. The two of them sigh contently.

"Please tell me you aren't gonna show us having sex," Naruto sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers.

"**Well I wasn't, but that is an excellent idea!**" Kyuubi exclaims, somehow snapping his fingers despite the massive claws. The scene turns fuzzy for a moment, changed when it clears back up.

Suddenly, Naruto and the fox are standing in the Hokage's office. On the desk, Naruto and Kiba are lying down. The two men are stark naked, Kiba lying on top of Naruto with his legs between Naruto's. They kiss passionately, but Naruto can tell that it's much more gentle than what Sasuke was doing.

"Okay, the office is kind of a cheap shot," Naruto jokes. "You know I want to be Hokage."

"**Come on, you have to admit that sex on the Hokage's desk would be hot. Especially since you're the Hokage in this situation.**"

"Cheap. Shot."

"**Just shut up and watch the sex.**"

Naruto sighs, knowing that Kyuubi won't stop the Genjutsu unless he watches. He turns back to his future self, watching as it gets a little more intense.

Kiba's erect member, almost unnaturally big thanks to the fox's imagination, grinds against Naruto's legs as they kiss. Naruto's future self smiles as Kiba nibbles on his neck playfully. Naruto giggles slightly, blushing as he moans with pleasure.

Naruto watches the Genjutsu, rarely blinking. After his incident with Sasuke, Naruto is surprised to see that sex can actually be gentle. It's strong, and obviously pleasing (in Kyuubi's mind, Kiba is quite...vocal during sex), but neither of them seem to be in any pain. It's actually somewhat sweet just to watch.

When the two of them finally finish, Kyuubi at last releases the Genjutsu. The two of them are back in the damp room, the fox back at his full size.

"**So, what did you think?**"

"It was interesting," Naruto admits shakily. "I admit that Kiba's really cute, and really sweet, but there's no way he's into me. I'm with Sasuke, and I'm determined to keep it that way."

Kyuubi sighs, nodding. "**I was just trying to provide you with a better option, but so be it. Now, rest your mind, Naruto. Something tells me it's gonna be an interesting day.**"

His vision of the Kyuubi fades, leaving Naruto to his dreams. He smiles as his dreams are filled with Sasuke, but frowns when they're invaded by thoughts of Kiba. Thanks a lot, Kyuubi.

When Naruto awakes at last, he turns over in bed to look at Kiba, who is now shirtless for some reason. He's still fast asleep, dangerously close to Naruto considering his dreams. Naruto's eyes brim with concern as he sees that Kiba is covered in a layer of seat, breathing heavily. His face contorts in pain.

Naruto shakes Kiba's shoulder, attempting to wake him. "Kiba, wake up!"

Kiba awakes with a jump, his eyes wide with fear. He must have been having some kind of nightmare. "Naruto?" he asks dreamily.

"Were you having a nightmare or something? Jesus, you scared me to death!"

Kiba shakes his head, his eyes downcast. Naruto edges closer to Kiba, still concerned for his friend. "It was nothing, Naruto. Just a weird dream."

"About Akamaru?" Naruto asks shakily. Kiba doesn't meet his gaze, but nods. Kiba cringes, because that was a complete lie. His dreams were nothing memorable at all, but Kiba could feel his entire body throbbing in pain despite his slumber. His shoulders are on fire, his whole back throbbing. His arms feel like they've been pumped full of lead.

"Well...I should go, I guess," Naruto says slowly. Kiba shakes his head.

"Hana's probably making breakfast for us. You can stay and eat, if you want," Kiba says. Naruto throws his arms around Kiba's shoulders in a hug. He breathes deeply, taking in Kiba's scent without even meaning to. He can't contain his smile as he breathes in the smell of pine trees. He doesn't know why Kiba smells like pine trees, but Naruto can't seem to get enough of it. He scolds himself as he remembers Sasuke.

Kiba tenses up at Naruto's touch, his shoulders only barely relaxing as he feels Naruto's warmth against his own body. Naruto's skin is excessively warm for some reason, perhaps because of his chakra. He smiles, lightly returning Naruto's hug to avoid too much pain.

"Thanks so much for letting me stay here, Kiba," Naruto says, nuzzling his head into Kiba's shoulder. Kiba's eyes widen, all his pain fading away instantly at Naruto's sensitive touch. Kiba tightens his hug on Naruto, his eyes fluttering closed in pure bliss.

The door swings open, revealing a very happy looking Hana. The two boys separate themselves instantly, hoping that she hadn't seen them. Apparently she hasn't, because her smile doesn't falter for a second.

"Breakfast is almost done, you two coming down or not?" she asks jokingly. The two boys laugh, both laughs forced. Kiba's face is so red that his clan markings are almost invisible. Naruto seems to play it off much better.

"We'll be down in just a second, just give us a minute, sheesh!" Kiba says. Hana gives them a funny look, shrugging as she turns to head back downstairs.

When she's out of sight, the two boys breathe a sigh of relief. They lock eyes, both of them suddenly feeling very awkward. What happened just before Hana interrupted them? What was going to happen if they hadn't? Suddenly, both the boys are very nervous just to be around each other.

"We...should go ahead and go eat..." Kiba says awkwardly.

"Kiba, I don't know—"

"Forget it." Kiba all but jumps out of the bed, walking calmly to the door with his hands in his pockets. As he steps through the doorway, his muscles clench up again. He catches himself on the door's frame to avoid falling, panting as he breaks into a sweat.

"Kiba!" Naruto gasps, running over to the door. Naruto tries to support Kiba, but Kiba shakes him off hastily. He struggles down the hallway, cringing with every step as his muscles throb in pain. Kiba knows this must be a side effect of Kabuto's injection, but can't help but wonder if this was on purpose somehow. Kabuto would be just crazy enough to think like that.

"Kiba, you look like hell!" Hana says as he steps into the kitchen. Kiba seethes again as he takes his seat at the table, Naruto following closely behind. His eyes never leave Kiba's trembling body.

"What happened to you, Kiba?" Tsume asks. She knows Kiba doesn't want to reveal whatever he was doing in the woods last night, so she tries to keep it generic. Kiba shoots her a warning glance, which doesn't intimidate her in the least.

"Don't know, my whole body just feels like shit," he pants.

"Kiba, should we take you to the Hospital?" Naruto asks shakily.

Kiba perks up. He knows that if he goes to the hospital then they'll give him painkillers and it'll mess up whatever the hell Kabuto injected him with. Even worse, they might even find traces of the drug in his blood and bring him in for questioning and then they'd know about Kabuto and he'd have to explain why and his secret would be out and Naruto would never talk to him again OH MY GOD.

Before Kiba can even try to defend himself, Hana snaps her fingers in a 'Eureka!' moment. "Oh, I almost forgot! You must be going through that super-painful growth spurt that Inuzuka men go through!"

Kiba has never heard of any such thing, but he sees it as an easy out compared to explaining all of this crap to Naruto. He nods his head, smiling fakely.

"Yeah, I guess that must be it, my joints are all achy and I totally feel like death!" he whines, obviously faking. If Naruto weren't so dense he would have called Kiba out on it, but the sight of waffles sitting in front of him made short work of that notion. Hana is eying Kiba carefully, while Tsume is half asleep on the couch. Kiba doesn't know if she's heard any of this.

"Alright you guys, dig in!" Hana says, smiling widely. Kiba and Naruto pick up their forks and begin their feast, each eating at least four waffles each. Hana laughs as she eats her second, already done while the boys begin on their fifths.

"Hana, that was amazing!" Naruto says. "Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it," Hana says.

"Alright, well I should probably go sort things out with Sasuke," Naruto says, standing from the table. Hana looks confused, looking Naruto over carefully.

"What happened with you and Sasuke?" she asks. "He came back to the village, isn't everything alright?"

"We kind of had a fight..." Naruto admits. "He stayed the night at my place and it got kind of weird."

Hana giggles. "What happened? You end up cuddling in bed together or something?"

"I wish..."

Hana's laugh ceases, her face surprised. "What...?"

"Sasuke's...my boyfriend..." Naruto says slowly. Hana's face is completely dumbstruck, her mind trying to calculate that. This gay guy just slept in the same bed as...

Oh _hell _no.

"Naruto, I think it's time you go," Hana says, rising from the table.

"Hana, do you have a problem with me being gay?" Naruto asks, his voice shaking.

"Kiba, help me clean up," Hana says, ignoring Naruto completely. Kiba watches Hana, ashamed. Is she against gays too?

"I...guess I'm not welcome here anymore," Naruto says, his head hanging to hide his eyes. Kiba watches him sadly, only faintly catching Naruto brush a tear off his cheek. Naruto's shoulders shake as he runs out of the Inuzuka estate without another word.

Kiba turns back to his sister, who is avoiding his gaze at all costs. "Hana, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"I don't think Mom will want someone like that in the house when she wakes up," Hana snaps, her eyes serious. "I have no problem with Naruto's disability, but when—"

Kiba doesn't let her finish. Hana is forced against the wall, her shoulders pinned in an instant as Kiba jumps clear across the table. His eyes are brimming with tears as he screams.

"What the fuck do you mean disability?" he yells. "You think that he's handicapped because he likes men? Is that what you think, Hana? Well?"

Hana looks Kiba square in the eye, her expression cold. "I mean exactly what it sounds like. It's not Naruto's fault, but he obviously has a serious problem."

Kiba's expression drops. He watches Hana as he backs away, completely amazed. Is that what she thinks of people like him? Of people just like her own brother? Kiba accidentally bumps into the kitchen table, knocking over a glass of orange juice that he hadn't yet finished.

"Dammit Kiba, you spilled your drink," Tsume scolds. She rubs her eyes as she approaches the table, woken up at some point by her children without them even noticing. She looks around, confused. "Hey, where's Naruto?"

"Hana made him leave," Kiba spits, walking to a drawer to grab a towel.

"What? Why would you do that, Hana?" Tsume asks. "We'd just given him breakfast, it's not polite—"

"Naruto just admitted he has a relationship with Sasuke Uchiha," Hana says bluntly. Tsume's eyes widen in shock, looking over to Kiba.

"Did you know about this?"

"Wha—of course I knew about it!" Kiba says. "The reason he asked to stay here instead of staying at his own house is because he and Sasuke had a fight!"

Kiba gasps as a hand is planted firmly across his cheek with a loud SMACK. Tsume winces as she strikes her own son, his whole cheek now close to the same color as his clan marking. He watches her in awe.

"Mom...how could you...?"

"You like him, don't you?" she asks, shoulders shaking. Kiba's heart jumps up into his throat, managing to skip a couple of beats while it makes itself comfortable there. He watches his mother, completely silent. His breathing picks up quickly as his heart regains a steady beat, though faster than usual.

"Why would you think that?"

"I guess you don't remember your little crush on Shikamaru when you were young," she spits. "Makes sense, I guess. Probably buried that deep after all the whippings."

Something in Kiba's head snaps as memories come back to him. He doesn't remember the reasons, but he suddenly remembers being whipped by his mother in the backyard on numerous occasions. He touches his shoulder with one hand, remembering all of the lashings because of a stupid kiddy crush on Shikamaru Nara. Like that would ever work, anyway.

"How could you...how could you know that?" Kiba asks. Hana's eyes shut, shaking her head in shame. It's unbelievable that both his mom and his sister could be such homophobes, but he's so distracted to even think straight right now. Tsume actually figured it out?

"I knew it!" Tsume roars, slamming her fist down on the table. "Backyard, Kiba. NOW!"

Kiba backs away from his mother, being pushed aside as she walks towards a closet. She shuffles through some things on the floor of the closet, smiling angrily as she retrieves the desired item from the very back. Kiba shudders as the item in question is revealed: a leather whip, coiled up as tight as it could possibly get. The leather is worn down, showing that Kiba has had a _lot _of beatings in the past. And now she wants to do it again?

"Mom, I don't know what the hell is wrong with you, but you have no idea what you're talking about!" he screams.

"Don't you dare yell at me! Go to the back yard this instant!"

"Make me!"

Tsume scowls at her son, Hana watching fearfully from a distance. She's never seen her mother like this. Tsume unwraps the whip, flicking it angrily against the ground.

"Don't want to go?" she growls. "Fine, then we'll do it right here!"

The whip shoots through the air so quickly that even Kiba doesn't have a moment to dodge. It cracks across his shoulder painfully, tearing straight through the fabric of his thin shirt. The skin beneath it is a dark red, lightly dotted with blood in the more painful areas. It's hard to pick those out, though, because his vision is blurred with pain as he drops to the ground in agony.

"That's one lash," Tsume growls. "Your usual quota was ten...so that's nine lashes left."

Hana gasps as her mother raises the whip again, cracking it down on her son's back. He cries out in pain as his already aching muscles are whipped repeatedly. After the sixth lash, his mother steps back to take a breather. Her arm is tired, but she refuses to lighten up on him now.

A knocking on the door breaks her rage. She grabs Kiba by his shoulders, all but throwing him into the next room to hide him. She puts on a fake smile, opening the door quickly.

The Fifth Hokage stands before her, leaned against the door frame casually. Tsume, surprised, bows to the woman.

"Lady Hokage, is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, actually," Tsunade says. "I need to talk to Kiba, is he here right now?"

"Actually, he just ran off to the store for me," Tsume lies. "I'll tell him to head your way as soon as he gets back, alright?"

Tsunade frowns, watching Tsume closely. Tsume's lie is foolproof, but Tsunade somehow seems to see right through her. Eventually, Tsunade only sighs.

"Very well. Make it soon, though. It's rather urgent."

Tsume nods before closing the door gently, the Hokage still standing outside. Tsume now makes no attempt to hide her disgust as she drags her son back into the kitchen. He's still conscious, breathing heavily and coated with sweat. His back is bleeding profusely, which will need to be mopped up after these last four lashes. Which she's determined to make just as painful as the first six.

"I almost feel like going easy on you since you have to talk to the Hokage," Tsume says, holding the whip high in the air. "Screw that!"

The whip cracks on Kiba's back again, but this time he doesn't cry out. He simply stares at the ground with a blank expression.

"Whip me ten more times if you want, I don't care," Kiba says flatly, catching both his mother's and his sister's attention. "I still care about Naruto. And if you think a whip is gonna change that then you're wrong." Tsume's expression, disgusted, becomes doubly so as Kiba finishes his defiance. "I love him, and you can go fuck yourself if you think that's ever gonna change."

Tears well in Tsume's eyes as she brings the whip down again, as merciless as ever. She keeps whipping him, gone well past his quota but screams as she continues to abuse him. Kiba doesn't scream once, despite the fact that his back is almost completely coated in his own blood. He bites his lip, refusing to give his bitch mother the satisfaction of his wails.

"Go to your room this second, and don't you dare come down for the rest of the day!" she screams. Kiba tries to get to his feet, failing miserably. Tsume rolls her eyes, gesturing for Hana to help him up to his room. "I don't want him bleeding all over my kitchen, if he wants to bleed in his own room then so be it."

Kiba barely resists crying out as his sister throws his arm over her own shoulder. Hana helps him to stand on his feet, despite his shaking knees. Kiba stumbles on his first step, his vision blurring as he catches himself on the wall. Hana watches him sympathetically, helping him up the stairs. Once they're out of earshot from their mother, Kiba speaks up.

"Still think it's a disability, Hana?" Kiba asks, laughing weakly. "Going through all of this shit just to let Mom get some anger out?"

"So you still won't even fake it, just to keep her happy?"

"Not a chance. She can beat me until I die for all I care," he chuckles darkly. "I'm gonna do my best to be with him."

Hana doesn't know how to respond to that, so she finishes helping Kiba to his bed. Once he's sitting comfortably on his soft bed, Hana turns to leave. She's stopped when Kiba grabs the back of her shirt.

"Hana...can you please heal these cuts?" Kiba asks. "I'm gonna ruin these sheets if you don't."

Hana shakes Kiba off, leaving without another word. She slams the door behind her, locking it to make sure Kiba stays right where he's supposed to. Locked up in his room without a bite to eat.

Kiba reaches for the kunai in his pouch. He knew that this would happen the second he saw Naruto cry. One more cut for his 'gallery'. He almost wants to put a fifth cut for his mom's and sister's reactions, but his back covers that one pretty well.

Without hesitation, Kiba cuts his wrist just beside the others. It bleeds quickly, the red already staining the blanket on his bed. The blood puddles in a sunken in part of the mattress, Kiba soon after realizing that it's the spot Naruto was sleeping last night. Kiba balls up his fists, falling onto the pillow as he cries. He doesn't cry because of his cut or his back, they don't hurt when it's compared to how his heart is cracking in half. Naruto isn't his boyfriend, because Naruto's real boyfriend is an abusive prick. His own mother and sister hate him because he has feelings for another man.

"Well well, at it again are we, Kiba?" Kabuto asks. Kiba almost jumps out of his skin in fear. He didn't even hear his window open, but there Kabuto stands plain as day in his room. Kabuto places his hand on Kiba's wrist, the cut already closing as the snake's hand glows with chakra.

"Thanks, Kabuto."

"You've got to stop doing this to yourself, Kiba," Kabuto scolds softly. "I'm not gonna be here every time you cut yourself."

"You don't have to be. Sometimes it's just better to let it bleed," Kiba spits. Kabuto pulls his hand away, and Kiba frowns as he sees yet a fourth scar on his wrist. The silver haired man places his hands on Kiba's bloodied back, beginning to heal the many cuts.

"I heard everything that happened, Kiba," Kabuto explains. "You did the right thing."

"Making my family hate me, you mean?"

"Being honest with them," Kabuto explains. "Would you rather have them know about your relationship with Naruto or have them find out after secretly dating him for a month?"

"Don't know, it doesn't look like either of them are gonna happen at this rate."

Kabuto snorts. "Are you serious? I guess you're forgetting that little moment you guys had on the bed this morning. I seriously thought he was about to plant one on you."

Kiba blushes, biting his lower lip in embarrassment. "Why would he do that?"

Kabuto sits back, wiping away a bit of sweat as he finishes healing Kiba's back. "It's odd, this is going differently than I'd expected it. It's like Naruto's being tempted by someone else to like you. All I know is that last night he had no interest, but this morning he's nuzzling."

"He never left my bed last night, who could he have spoken to?" the brunette asks, confused.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Kabuto shrugs. "So, hows the medicine treating you?"

"It hurts like hell," he says flatly.

Kabuto laughs. "It's to be expected. Your muscles are trying to adapt to the medicine, so they're growing at an exponential rate. It's gonna be a few more hours before that goes away. Has your strength improved any yet?"

"Not that I've noticed, but I haven't really checked."

"If it's changed yet, you'd have noticed," Kabuto jokes. "Trust me, it takes getting used to."

Kiba sighs, rubbing the back of his head. "Is there anything else you needed?"

"Just one thing. We're gonna have to switch these injections to nightly, Sasuke's getting more and more restless. He knows that Naruto stayed with you last night and is starting to get suspicious of you two being together. Honestly, I should just throw my five step system out the window..."

"But we're not together!" Kiba protests.

"I know that, and Naruto knows that, but that doesn't mean Sasuke knows that. Just let it be, I'll be back tonight for your next injection."

Before Kiba can complain any more, Kabuto vanishes in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

**There you have it! I tried to make this chapter long like the last one, but Kabuto seems to leave me with good ending points lol. Anyway, Chapter 8 should be up in a couple days so be on the lookout! Please leave a review and thanks for reading!**


	8. 8: What's Happening to Me?

**SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY GAHHHHHH!**

**I haven't updated this story in so long that it's ridiculous! But I swear, I SWEAR that I am back into my writing full-fledged. I will be bringing update upon update on ALL of my stories. Anyway, since it's been so long, I won't ramble any longer because this has been postponed WAY longer than it should have already.**

* * *

"Run it again, Kiba," Anko screeches.

Kiba is panting like a dog (no pun intended). Anko has been making him try to perfect this jutsu for two hours now, and he's not much of a Ninjutsu fighter. If it weren't for Kabuto's newest injection, he'd have passed out twice by now.

Kiba forms his hand seal, gathering his chakra. Various parts of his body begin to spark; his chest, his shoulders, his legs. Then they all catch fire, surrounding his body in flames. This isn't the hard part, really. The _hard _part is keeping this jutsu going while doing a Fang Over Fang.

"Anko, I can't…"

"Yes you can, Kiba!" Anko shouts. He thinks she's trying to encourage Kiba, but to him it sounds like sarcasm. Maybe when he can hear something over the blood pounding in his ears he'll be able to make a better call on that.

"Okay," Kiba breathes. "Fire Style: Scorching Fang Over Fang!"

Flames engulf his spinning body as Kiba throws himself through the air. Normally Kiba has to use his sense of smell to find his target in the Fang Over Fang, but the fire is making that a lot more difficult. And even if it weren't, the tree in front of him doesn't have much of a scent anyway.

He only manages to take out a branch, but that's the closest he's gotten to a hit all day. They decide to take a break when Anko has to put out the fire.

This is going to be a long day.

**NARUTO's POV**

"Hey Granny, do you have any missions I can take?" Naruto squeaks happily. He barges into the Hokage's office, completely un-announced, successfully taking the woman by surprise.

"Oh, Naruto," she stutters, startled. "I wasn't expecting you. Are you feeling alright?"

Naruto rolls his eyes. "I'm fine, I just needed some sleep."

Tsunade isn't convinced. She does a quick once-over on Naruto, checking blood pressure and stuff like that in a matter of minutes. When she's finally sure that he's medically fine, she sighs.

"I don't have any missions that would entertain you, Naruto," she sighs. "Why are you so eager? Not that you aren't always, but still."

"Sasuke's catching up with some of the others, so he wanted some time to himself today," Naruto shrugs. "Come on, there's gotta be something I can do!"

She sighs again (she seems to enjoy that today) before pulling a packet of papers from beneath her desk. She extends the papers to Naruto, who grabs them. "What's this?"

"The Chunin exams are coming up and Anko needs to get ready," Tsunade reports. "This is the information she needs. Think you can get these to her?"

"Of course," Naruto sighs. "I was wanting another bandit mission or something. This is Genin stuff."

"All of the Genin are out of the village. One might think you'd want to wind down after the war…" Tsunade teases. "Please, Naruto?"

Faking a smile, Naruto takes the paper with a nod. Leaving with nothing more than a wave, Naruto runs off to find Anko-sensei.

**KIBA's POV**

"How was that?" Kiba gasps. The tree is little more than a smoking husk, the results of Kiba's new jutsu.

"Still needs work, but good," Anko smiles. That smile means a job well done to Kiba, so he takes the opportunity to fall on his back for some rest. Anko rolls her eyes, smiling as she goes to clean up the mess Kiba's jutsu made.

_What a kid. Running a jutsu like that so many times, I'd almost believe he's a Jinchuuriki_, she thinks.

Kiba breathes a happy sigh as he throws his hands behind his head, looking up to the clouds. If he can get this right, all he needs to do now is get Naruto to teach him how to do Shadow Clones. With that combination, and the rest of Kabuto's drugs, beating Sasuke is going to be a cakewalk.

Okay, maybe not a cakewalk, but at least he won't get killed two seconds in. Stupid skeleton-thingy…

"Hey, Anko-sensei!" Naruto calls. Kiba perks up, painfully leaping to his feet after so much work. His mind is racing.

_Why is Naruto here?! Shouldn't he be with Sasuke or something? This is a day for training, how much did he see? I hope I didn't—_

"Oh, hey Kiba!" Naruto grins.

"H-Hey, Naruto," he stutters shamefully. Anko rolls her eyes and walks up to Naruto.

"What do you need, Naruto? We're kind of busy here," she groans, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"A message from Lady Tsunade. You need to be preparing for the Chunin Exams," he reports. Naruto hands her the envelope from the Hokage.

Kiba tries to push his heart out of his throat and back down into his chest. Did Naruto see him training? God he hopes not, because he's sure it was less than glamorous. Watching Kiba try to learn Ninjutsu is like watching a slug learning to do a cartwheel.

"What was that jutsu you were working on, Kiba?" Naruto inquires, turning away from Anko as she reads the packet.

"Oh, it's-uh, something Anko and I came up with," Kiba stammers. "A variation of my Fang Over Fang."

"Can I see?" Naruto grins, bouncing on his toes slightly. Kiba hesitates, trying to remember how to swallow the increasing amounts of spit in his mouth. Silently, he nods.

He performs the hand seals, ending in Tiger. After a deep breath, he speaks. "Fire Style: Scorching Fang Over Fang!"

Kiba flies through the air, a vortex of flame darting across the earth and headed towards the forest. The grass below his spinning body blackens as he flies, the tree before him sliced in half and catching flame. He slows to a stop, his sandals sliding across the earth.

"That was awesome!" Naruto compliments, running up to meet Kiba. Kiba smiles at Naruto's wide grin, his bright white teeth lifting his mood a little.

"Thanks. We've been working on it all day just to get it there," Kiba admits, his cheeks heating up. "I'm not much of a Ninjutsu fighter."

"No no no, it was totally great!" Naruto comforts. "But you know what would make it even better? Shadow Clones!"

_Oh my God he's doing my job for me_, Kiba thinks. Smiling widely, Kiba nods. "Can you teach me?"

"Sure no problem, it's easy!" Naruto brags, surely over exaggerating the simplicity of his signature jutsu. Dragging Kiba to the center of the field by his hand (coaxing yet another blush from Kiba – he really needs to work on that), Naruto grins and makes the hand seal.

"The whole point is making an exact copy of yourself, of course," he begins, taking on a superior tone. "You just have to picture yourself in your head, down to the last detail. Then focus your chakra outside of your body and to where you want to make the clone. You won't be able to do it very far away unless you're making multiple clones."

Kiba nod, mimicking his hands and gathering his chakra. He secretly thanks Kabuto for this one, because all of Kiba's power bends to his will at the slightest effort. This stuff really lives up to expectations.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" the brunet yells, trying it out for the first time. A puff of smoke appears beside him, a copy of himself looking back at him. Kiba's eyes widen, concentration lost and ending the jutsu as he falls back onto the ground.

"Nice job, Kiba!" Naruto praises. Kiba shakes his head quickly, his hands finding either side of his head and locking over his ears. Naruto praises Kiba some more but he refuses to listen, and Naruto notices this.

"Kiba, what's wrong?" Naruto asks softly, leaning down to check on his friend. Kiba's eyes are squeezed shut, tears leaking through and streaming down his cheeks.

"Kiba, what's wrong with you?" Anko yells as she runs over. Kiba presses his hands tighter around his head, shaking it again, and squeezing his eyes tighter. "Naruto, what happened?"

"I-I-I don't know, he made a Shadow Clone and then…this happened," Naruto stutters, his thoughts racing. Kiba's arms start shaking somewhat violently, his arms and legs trembling as his tears intensify.

"Take him home, we're done for today," Anko orders. She walks off to somewhere Naruto can't see, allowing them a bit of privacy. Naruto scoops Kiba up in his arms princess-style and jumps into the village, Kiba's eyes never opening once. His crying and shaking stops, but his hands never leave his ears.

Arriving at the front door of Kiba's home, Naruto kicks the bottom of it a couple of times to knock. Nobody answers for a couple of minutes, and Naruto doesn't feel any chakra inside, so he runs around his home to the balcony he'd seen when he stayed the night with Kiba. He leaps onto it, stepping through the glass door and entering Kiba's bedroom.

Kiba doesn't relax when Naruto sets him on his bed, crawling on his hands and knees to come up beside the brunet. Kiba's heart races, sweat gathering on his skin as the shaking returns. Naruto worries about some kind of seizure, but Kiba seems totally conscious. He's just in shock.

"Kiba, are you alright?" Naruto asks, his voice raspy with concern. Kiba slowly opens a single eye, landing quickly on his crush and relaxing him a little. His eyes are still half-lidded but open when he sits up, his hands slowly coming down from his ears.

"I'm sorry" is all Kiba says as he turns his head away from the blond.

"Kiba, what happened?" Naruto asks.

"I don't want to talk about it…"

"Kiba, please…" Naruto pleads, his hand inching closer to Kiba's subconsciously. While Kiba would normally blush beet red, his thoughts are too scattered even for Naruto right now.

"It's about Akamaru," Kiba frowns, his eyes finding their way back to Naruto. Naruto's huge blue eyes meet with slit black, the stark difference sparking something in Kiba's stomach. So close to him, now. So close…

"What does any of this have to do with Akamaru?" he asks softly.

Kiba brings his knees up to his chest, holding them against him with his crossed arms. "When…when we would fight, Akamaru and I would use Man-Beast Clones," Kiba explains sadly. "And he would transform to look like me. For a second there, I…" Kiba balls his fists tightly on the sleeves as the memories flood him, all the years fighting alongside his best friend. Tears gather at the corners of his eyes again.

The teens sit in awkward silence for a while, Kiba trying to keep ahold of himself and Naruto trying to figure out what to say. He wants to comfort his friend somehow, but no words seem to fit the situation. What does he say? I'm sorry? He has nothing to apologize for, but it seems like the only thing that fits.

"I should get home, Sasuke's waiting for me," Naruto says softly, breaking their silence. He stands from the bed, turning to exit through the balcony where he came in. Eyes snapping open, Kiba lurches forward and grabs the back of Naruto's shirt hopefully. Naruto looks back to Kiba, surprised.

"Please…don't go," Kiba pleads, pulling the blankets tighter around him with his free hand. "Not until I fall asleep."

Completely shocked, Naruto nods and crawls into bed with his friend. It feels awkward to Naruto, but Kiba breathes a sigh of relief as he scoots closer to Naruto under the covers. Naruto smiles and leans his head against Kiba's strong chest, weariness beginning to take its toll on him as well. Any feelings of awkwardness simply melt away as Kiba's steady breathing slowly begins to lull Naruto to sleep. The Jinchuriki can't help but smile a little when Kyuubi speaks a single sentence into his host's mind.

"**You see, Naruto? He's really something special,**" he says. Nodding to his inner demon, he quickly finds himself drifting into a dream.

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**Thank you so much for reading this chapter, and I promise more will be coming soon! Check out my other stories and check back often for more updates! Reviews are greatly appreciated and make me want to write more (wink wink)**


	9. 9: An Unexpected Turn of Events

**Sorry, little bit of a delay on this chapter. Gave me more trouble than I'd been expecting, but this chapter has been in the works since day one. Lots of plans coming to a head on the chapter, you won't be disappointed! I hope.**

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Kiba's eyes open slowly, his elongated canines exposed as he yawns. His stomach tingles slightly with hunger, but for some reason he can't bring himself to move from his bed. He's really comfortable right now.

At a single movement, he quickly finds exactly why he's so comfortable. A cute, whiskered little blond is cuddled up against his chest, dead asleep. He blushes as he looks down at Naruto, who mumbles something about ramen in his sleep. He wraps his arm over Naruto's body, sighing contently. He quickly drifts back off to sleep with a smile on his face.

…

Naruto feels constricted when he regains consciousness, though he can't shake his feeling of contentment. He opens his eyes to find Kiba looking down at him, a smile on his face and his eyes half-lidded. His fang tattoos gleam in the morning sun, making Naruto smile.

"Were you watching me sleep?" Naruto asks quietly. Blushing, Kiba turns his head away from the blond.

"I-I just woke up a couple minutes ago," Kiba stutters, his blush intensifying.

Naruto chuckles. "You're so weird."

"You wanna do something today?" Kiba asks. Naruto sighs, and shakes his head a little.

"I would, but I barely talked to Sasuke yesterday and I don't want to ignore him. He _is _my boyfriend, after all," Naruto half-laughs.

_Ouch…lying in bed with me, thinking about Sasuke…_

"In any case, I should probably get going," Naruto sighs, sitting up in bed. Kiba removes his arms from around the Jinchuriki reluctantly as he stands. Naruto raises his arms above his head and stands on his toes, stretching from top to bottom. Kiba manages to restrain himself from gawking at the skin exposed when his shirt lifted.

"Naruto, wait," Kiba chokes out as Naruto approaches the small balcony. Kiba catches his hand top stop him, the blond raising an eyebrow as he turns to face him.

"What's wrong, Kiba?"

"I don't…I mean…" Kiba stutters. He tries to think of a way to keep Naruto here with him, to get him to just cuddle back up with him under the covers and sleep the day away, but no words come. Kabuto's words come to mind.

"_Just a small action to let him know you care about him. Some even use a little kiss_," he had said. Biting his lip, he leans down to the shorter blond slowly.

"K-Kiba, what are—" Naruto attempts to protest, but is silenced as Kiba smashes their lips together.

From Kiba's side, electricity sparked as the two sets of delicate skin melded together. The kiss is one-sided, but Kiba pours all of his emotion into it so he can get his message across. _I love you, Naruto._

On Naruto's side, however, he's too distracted to receive such an obvious message. His eyes widen instinctively and stumbles back slightly. Kiba follows his step and presses deeper into the kiss, not trying to take it further but still wanting _more_.

He breaks off the kiss silently, their faces still hovering only an inch or two apart. Naruto watches the brunet in shock, his eyes wide and his breaths short. Kiba smiles slightly, relishing the blond's expression. Clapping a hand over his mouth, Naruto blushes beet red as he takes a step back from the brunet.

"I-I-I should go," he stammers, bumping into Kiba's dresser as he backs out onto the balcony and jumps off into the distance.

Kiba smiles and returns to sit on his bed, laying back with his hands crossed behind his head.

"Nice work, Kiba," Kabuto praises, emerging silently from the shadows.

"I was wondering when you were gonna show up," Kiba smirks, turning to face the snake.

"Sorry about missing your injection last night. I didn't want to interfere," Kabuto grins evilly, removing his hood. His golden eyes are cold as he watches Kiba.

"We gonna do that now?" he asks. Kabuto's grin widens a little, then nods. As always, the snake coils itself around his body in an instant, and they disappear in a puff of smoke.

…

Naruto stops at the front door of his apartment, reluctant to enter his home. What should he say to Sasuke? If he were smart, Naruto would keep it a secret and pretend it never happened. But instead, Naruto is honest. So he gulps down his worries as he enters the small home.

"Sasuke, are you here?" Naruto calls out as he opens the door. He pokes his head into the bathroom and the bedroom. Then, stepping into the living room, his expression softens a little to see his boyfriend standing there calmly. He's back in his old clothes, the purple rope around his waist and the grey shirt with the high collar. His sword is trapped between the ropes.

"I'm here, Naruto," he says grimly, turning to face the blond. He doesn't smile, or even show the slightest sliver of emotion at Naruto. His eyes are that familiar cold.

"Sasuke, is something wrong?" Naruto asks, taking a step closer. In a flash his sword is drawn, the tip of the blade pressed against the delicate skin on Naruto's neck. "Sasuke?!"

"Not one more step, Kyuubi," Sasuke growls, his Sharingan spinning in his eyes as it activates. A sharp pain inflicts the side of Naruto's thigh, pressure appearing in the affected flesh. He looks down to see what had hurt him, only to find a syringe stuck in his leg. A fluid is quickly forced into his body, the pain intensifying slightly. He looks to the wielder of the syringe to see a scaly white hand holding the small device. The rest of the arm is cloaked in a red sleeve, the color of blood.

"It's been awhile, Kyuubi," Kabuto smirks, injecting the last of the mixture into Naruto's leg. Naruto's vision swirls as he stumbles backwards, his muscles beginning to lock up.

"Sasuke…what the—?"

"I can't believe you never suspected a thing," Sasuke smirks, sheathing his blade. His Sharingan changes to its Mangekyo form as he leans in close to the blond, forcing eye contact. "I even had to choke down my nausea long enough to have sex with you. You can't imagine the shower I had to take after that. I felt _disgusting_."

"Just knock him out, Sasuke. Madara's waiting for him," Kabuto scolds, tossing aside the emptied syringe. Sasuke nods, and locks Naruto in the most miserable Genjutsu he can conjure.

**Kiba's POV**

Kiba finally relaxes as the syringe is removed, Kabuto breathing a sigh of relief as he sets the emptied tool on the counter. Kiba grins widely.

"So remind me what this one does?"

"It's another speed booster," Kabuto explains. "But, Kiba, it seems I have a confession to make."

"What's up?" Kiba asks. He gasps as he faces the medic-nin, snakes shooting out from Kabuto's sleeve. They hiss as they approach the unarmed brunet, wrapping their scaly bodies around his broad shoulders.

"What the hell?!"

"Terribly sorry, Kiba," Kabuto smirks. "But I'm afraid this is the end of our work together."

"What are you doing, Kabuto?"

"I don't need you anymore."

"You need me to get back at Sasuke," Kiba growls, struggling against the snakes binding him.

"Oh yes, about that," Kabuto begins. "I'm afraid I told a little lie. I told you I wanted to get back at him for deserting Madara and I, but he never actually betrayed us. In fact, he and I are dragging the Kyuubi back to Madara as we speak."

"WHAT?!" Kiba screams, a string of profanity lingering on the end of his tongue. "Kabuto you let me out right now, or I swear to God I will—"

"Will what, dog breath?" Kabuto groans. "Kill me? Good luck with that."

"Damn you!"

"Don't be like that, Kiba. We may not be on the same side, but I'm not one to go back on a bargain," Kabuto smiles. "As promised, your injections have increased your body function, and I'll revive your little dog."

Kabuto claps his hands together and presses them to the ground, a solid wooden coffin emerging from the stone floor. The coffin's cover falls down, revealing the form that Kiba's wanted to see for so long.

Akamaru.

"You see? I only want the best for you, Kiba," Kabuto grins evilly, putting his hood back on. He retrieves a kunai with a tag attached and places it in the back of Akamaru's head. The canine's eyes open slowly, which are now pure black with white irises. The dog steps out from its container, sniffing the ground at Kabuto's feet.

"Akamaru…" Kiba mumbles aloud. The dog looks at Kiba with no emotion, failing to recognize his own master.

"I said I'd revive him, Kiba," Kabuto starts. "But I can't give a dog his personality back. He's just a walking corpse."

Kiba trembles in anger, his shoulders shaking in rage. He forces his chakra through his whole body and pushes outwards, the snakes tearing apart and splattering Kiba in their blood.

"You're going to regret giving me those injections, Kabuto," Kiba growls, kneeling down into his fighting stance.

"Akamaru, I have a task for you," Kabuto smirks, turning away from the ninja. "Kill your old master for me, won't you?"

Barking in approval, Akamaru launches himself at the Inuzuka. Kiba dodges the spinning column of white fur, a clear counterattack available but he can't bring himself to hit Akamaru.

"I'll leave you two to it, then," Kabuto says. "And Kiba, if you make it out of here alive, I suggest you never look for Sasuke and I. Assuming you want to live, of course."

Kabuto disintegrates into a pile of white snakes, revealing his identity as a clone. Kiba curses loudly as his former pet lunges at him, fangs bared and claws outstretched. Kiba ducks and throws a brief kick at the dog's side, flinging it into the wall with a thump. Kiba doubles over, horrified at himself for the very act before he remembers…

_That's not Akamaru, not anymore. Just a walking corpse, like some damned zombie._

Kiba turns and faces his dog, blood boiling. This is all Kabuto's fault. This is all Sasuke's fault. This is his own fault for believing that conniving little snake. All he wants to do right now is kill.

Kill the first thing he sees with either white skin or red eyes. But first, he needs to help an old friend.

Akamaru lunges again, Kiba dodging easily and landing feet-first on a wall. He holds himself there with only his chakra, frowning at his former pet.

"Sorry boy, I'm a lot stronger now," Kiba apologizes. Akamaru barks, and Kiba makes a hand seal.

_It's time I stop crying about Akamaru, huh? I'll miss you, but I need to move on_, Kiba thinks.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Kiba screams, forcing his chakra into the jutsu. Smoke fills the large room, eight perfect clones of Kiba appearing from nowhere. From there, the nine Kiba's form a new hand seal.

"Fire Style: Scorching Fang Barrage!" he screams. Kiba and his eight clones all transform into spiraling vortexes of fire, flinging themselves at the white dog. The reanimation's confidence never falters, however, as he launches himself at one of the clones in a Fang Over Fang of his own. He obliterates the clone but takes two more to the side and one in the gut. Swallowing his sorrow for Akamaru, the _real _Akamaru, Kiba bites his lip and throws himself into Akamaru's chest. Akamaru flies back into the wall, yelping slightly as the stone cracks from the force. He falls down onto his stomach, panting heavily. He tries to stand again, his weak legs barely carrying him. He snarls and growls at the Inuzuka, but Kiba's expression is colder than ice.

"You aren't Akamaru," Kiba whispers. His fury grows, and begins to scream at his former dog. "You hear that, Kabuto?! That _isn't _my dog, you can't hurt me with him! He's nothing to you anymore!"

Kabuto seems to have gotten the message, because Akamaru's wooden coffin materializes in front of them. Akamaru is pulled back by an invisible hand, sitting comfortably inside. The hound shoots one last glance at Kiba, his glare still icy.

_I guess…Akamaru really is gone_, Kiba muses. The coffin slams shut and sinks into the ground, removing his dog from his life at last.

_Goodbye, boy._

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** That hurt to write. A lot. But like I said, you won't be disappointed unless you'e a NaruSasu fan. God I am so glad I never have to write them again.**

**Thank you so much for reading! Shit's about to go down so that soon, I can FINALLY start writing some fluffy goodness between Naruto and Kiba! Anyway, please leave a review (they encourage me to write), follow/favorite my story, and check back for the next chapter!**


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